Maggie Mae KCW #5 6 &7

Between housekeeping, weekend guests as well as power and internet outages, I was able to sneak in one more item for KCW.

The power is back on, the internet is working - sporadically - so I will attempt to upload the latest.

It's size 5, Maggie Mae from Shwin & Shwin.

I used  1/2 meter of print fabric and made up the difference with contrast. I think the hem might be a wee bit too short. If it is, I can always re-cut and add a wider hem band.

In the winter, I bought several bags of coloured buttons. The shipment had just come off the truck during a -40C day and the bags were so cold, they were difficult to carry to the cash.
Anyway, they came in handy today for this outfit and the good news is they have defrosted!

Tomorrow Miss C can try this dress on. We'll see then if the hem is a bit short.

Tee's, Vest, Skirt, Pants, Leggings.

I managed to get some sewing done over the past few weeks.  I bought several new patterns and am trying to get them made to see what is liked, what fits and what to be shelved as a bad idea!

The first item is the Flashback Skinny Tee from Made by Rae size 3T.
It took a few minutes to cut out then maybe 20 minutes to sew up. I am more than pleased with the results. I just hope it fits!

I am loving my new coverstitch machine.  It does such a good job on hems.

Happy with the trial run, I made another Flashback Skinny Tee however this time made a turtle neck style.

Still lovin' the coverstitch.

I bought several Shwin & Shwin patterns when they went on sale.  This one is the BBC Vest size 5.
The pattern was straightforward and although I initially had trouble visualizing how the pieces fit together, it did came together beautifully.

I did agonize over the peplum pattern pieces though.
They appeared to go together much like a mitre where the front pieces meet the back pieces.  However looking at the photos with the pattern it didn't look like a mitre type of corner. I even scoured the internet to see if anyone else's finished BBC vest look like mine but it was too difficult to tell.

So whether or not it's supposed to look this way I like it!

I had a little bit of fabric left over, so made the Lazy Days skirt from Oliver + S which is a free download.  I trimmed the hem with brown grosgrain ribbon.

Next on my list was the Lovely Rita Skinny Jeans from Swhin & Shwin, size 5. The fabric used is stretchy and has a fuchsia thread running through matching the corduroy.
The colour reminds me of the chewing gum called Thrills. As I recall, they tasted like moth balls. But that comment has nothing to do with sewing.
The pattern calls for an interesting little flap on the bottom of the leg but I omitted that detail thinking it might be too busy against the fabric pattern.

I think the outfit will be comfortable to wear but I'm not too sure about the vest. It may be a little tight around the middle.
It's really frustrating not to have the wearer handy to try things on to see what needs to be adjusted.
Sure, a tape measure comes in handy to match up widths and so on but having a real person inside the clothes would work so much better!

I was told that leggings, knit tee's and tunic tops would be perfect wear for Jr. Kindergarten.  So I made the Lucy tunic top from Shwin & Shwin.  It's size 5, reversible with pockets on both sides.
Mom has seen the tunic top and while she likes the Chinese lantern plant fabric, she doesn't like the style. But guess who does...Miss C! She loves it.

Using the legging piece from the Laguna skirt pattern from Farbenmix, I made brown knit leggings.
I'll bet it took me all of 15 minutes to whip them up. Talk about quick and easy!

Well, whether these clothes fit or not and whether they are liked or not I'm having fun sewing and playing with my new coverstitch machine.

Back-to-school parameters.

Thinking about outfits that don't need ironing, are comfortable and perfect to wear for Jr. Kindergarten (i.e. easy on and off when going to the bathroom by oneself) I decided to travel down the knit fabric path.

Our model caught a nasty cold from school, so she wasn't feeling well enough for me to get photos of her wearing these outfits.  However they all fit and look really good on her.

So here are the outifts I've made so far.

First up is Shwin and Shwin's pattern 'The Eleanor Dress".
Fabric is light pink with a grey fleck knit.  Size 4.

The pattern called for 3 buttons on the collar but I didn't have 3 green buttons that matched so I made a little flower corsage using grey and green tulle, green grosgrain ribbon and a vintage pink and grey button all attached to a piece of buckram and stitched onto a safety pin.

I held the edges of the tulle up to an open flame to get an interesting effect but have subsequently bought a heat gun to use for future flower pins.

I love the pockets in this dress pattern.  Good for hiding little treats!

For the leggings, I used the pattern from Sunki by Figgy's.  Size 5/6 in grey jersey.

The dress fit perfectly and everyone liked the dress and flower pin.

The next knit item was the Cowl Neck dress from Heidi and Finn. Size 5.
Fabric is a bulkier knit in red and brown stripe, although in these photos the red looks pinkish.

I didn't make the belt as per the pattern, instead I made a little belt with a pouch pocket on the front.
Miss C likes the belt because she can keep a tiny treasure in it. Mom however doesn't like it and will use a brown leather belt instead.
I guessing Miss C will get her way and wear the one I made because I've seen her persuasion tactics in action.

Last month I bought a Janome Coverpro 1000CPX which is a stand alone coverstitch machine. It sure makes quick work of hems.

This dress was amazingly easy and quick to construct. It fit perfectly and everyone seemed to like it.
I'll be making more of these!

Out of lightweight cotton twill that I'm sure won't require ironing, I made the "Claire" pattern from Shwin and Shwin. Size 4.

Using a ruffler attachment, I added ruffles around the neck and down the back.
In hindsight I should have used piping across the front.

The pattern calls for a peplum frill added to the skirt. When I pinned the two pieces together, it seemed like such an open area between the two frills, so I cut off 3 inches from the skirt and pinned it to the top 2 sections thus creating 3 layers of frills.

I always struggle to get a good photo. It doesn't help when the dog wants my attention and photo bombs my efforts.

For leggings, again I used the pattern piece from Figgy's Sunki pattern. Size 5/6.
I ruched theside seams by shirring with elastic thread in the bobbin and added bows matching the top.

The fabric was stretchy knit-like denim. Foolishly I didn't use serged rolled hem seams therefore they are thick and difficult for our 4 year old to get on and off by herself.

But here's the catch.

Apparently all clothes worn to Jr.K have to be such that the 4 year old can get the outfits on and off by themselves in case they have to change.

The Claire top has button down the back. Doh!

The reason Miss C has a nasty cold is because her class accidentally got locked out of the school during recess and were left out in a downpour of rain.
All 20 Jr. K's were completely soaked and had to change ... by themselves ... into spare clothing.

Never mind. It's a sweet little outfit on her and she can wear it on the days she doesn't go to school.

Armed knowing all the parameters for JK wear, it's back-to-sewing for me!

2 dresses

I really like the Bubble Dress. I've made slight changes to the pattern in the past adding long sleeves. But since my daughter likes Peter Pan collars, this time around I added just that. I left off the bubble part. Yet true to my usual, I put piping around the capped sleeve, bodice, and of course around the collar too.
My daughter picked out the fabric, it's really summery looking.

I also really like the pattern Maggie Mae by Shwin & Shwin.  The last time I made it, I added piping around the armscye but found it was too bulky.  This time around I left off the piping there but kept it around the neck and between the upper yoke and mid-yoke.  I also added a placket to the back skirt.

April showers plaguing the lighting for these photos.

Maggie Mae

This is pdf pattern from Shwin & Shwin called Maggie Mae.  I made it in size 3.

The instructions were easy to follow and came with photos too.

I added piping to the neck, top yoke and around the armholes. But I must have made an error because the armholes seem too small.  Since this is a test run, I'll adjust the pattern next time out.

 

Note to self:  add a placket to the skirt section, construct the upper bodice section differently than instructions tucking the lining inside.

Sarah wants the next one in navy blue with white contrast and red bow at waist as per Jackie O styles.