A Copy of Two Copies

Say what?! A copy of two copies? It's simpler than it sounds. Both Gayle and Shams copied a ready-to-wear tunic. I saw their versions, fell in love with the design, and copied them. And here's my copy:

This is made with three fabrics from Marcy Tilton - red rayon jersey, black and white dotted jersey, and printed mesh knit. They were great to work with, and the top went together fairly easily. The only changes I made to the design were to angle the hem and add a cowl neckline rather than a funnel neckline. I used my tried and true t-shirt pattern as the basis for the draft, and made changes for the details.

The cowl is simply a tube, applied to the neckline as you would apply a neck band. It is single layer, and I left the edge raw:

I've just realized my photos don't show the drawstring detail very well. Here's a close-up:

This is definitely my favorite detail in the garment, and it could translate easily to many different tunic and top designs. It was very straightforward to make, so I'll try to detail the process here.

First, I added an extra 5/8" to the seam allowance in the area that would become the drawstring channels. That gave me a 1-1/4" seam allowance, enough to make a 5/8" channel. Before sewing the seam, I pressed the hem allowances up. (This step is critical. There is no way to turn up the hem once the channels are sewn, so it must be done now.)

Next I made two drawstrings, sewing one end closed on each one. Then I got out some trusty Steam a Seam and applied it to the long edge of both casings. I laid the drawstrings inside the casings, leaving the raw edges extending out of the tops of the channels. I then pressed the Steam a Seam edges so they would hold it all together.

Off to the sewing machine, where I attached my topstitching foot. Starting at the seamline, I stitched across the top and down the side of each channel. That secured the drawstrings at the top, and enclosed them in the channels.

And that's all there was to it. Keeping the drawstrings out of the way while sewing the channels was the most difficult part. I suppose the channels could be stitched, then the drawstrings threaded through, and the top of the channels sewn shut. But this accomplished it all without having to do the threading.

Attaching the flounce was also very easy. It is simply a large rectangle of fabric. I cut away the lower front at an angle - easy to see in the top photo above. The side seam is sewn, ending at the top of the angle. Then the long edge of the rectangle is sewn to the angled side seam allowance, breaking the stitching where the "normal" side seam ends.

Yes, I am *this* happy when wearing this tunic. It is super comfortable, and I love the whimsy added by the details. Thanks to both Gayle and Shams for inspiring me to make this. I'll definitely be sewing it again. I'm thinking a solid color next time, maybe with a funnel collar...

Black and Plum = Yum

Finally, a photo opportunity - when husband was available and light was bright. I modeled this top and vest, made in December and January:

Let's begin with the top. Both fabrics are from Marcy Tilton, and have been  marinating in my collection for a while. They were separate purchases, but when I saw them together I knew they would be perfect in one garment.

I love the idea of combining mesh and opaque fabrics, but as a plus size gal, there's little of my body I want to expose through mesh. I pondered the challenge for a while and came up with the idea of a cowl and scrunchy cuffs.

I love the sheerness and gathers of the mesh against the tiny polka dotted rayon. The mesh is very light and easily collapses into a frothy ring around my neck. Fun!

I used a TNT pattern for this, and simply cut the cowl to fit the neck opening. It is quite high; if I pull it up it entirely covers my head. The mesh and jersey were a really easy sew, and the top is a delight to wear. (Of course it is. It's purple!)

The vest was made using an out of print pattern from Diane Ericson:

The teatowel vest is certainly outdated now (was it ever exactly fashionable?) but I think I can get a lot of mileage out of the other two designs. I used view A.

I started with a gorgeous wool crepe from Sawyer Brook. Wanting to take advantage of several textural black fabrics in my remnant collection, I decided to design pieced lapels. The pattern includes only a long, straight lapel piece. Here is the pattern mock up as I designed it:

And here are the lapels I spent hours designing, cutting out and sewing together, only to decide I didn't like the look:

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll be able to see the textures a bit better. The reason I nixed these lapels is they were just too much. I didn't like the choppiness of the edges, even though I had staggered them. In a nutshell, it just seemed too crafty. So, I backed off and went for the streamlined look of the original pattern piece, and chose one of the textured fabrics. 

The vest has a fun construction detail. Except for the shoulder seams, all seams are overlapped and topstitched. To do this, the entire vest is lined to the edge and turned inside out. Then the back pieces are overlapped and stitched, and the sides follow suit. This means lots of pin fitting, and making sure of where the seam lines will be before attaching the lining. The overlapping leaves little vents at the lower back and side seams.

I like the asymmetrical back and the button detail. The seam gives a nice vertical element to the back, too. Always a benefit for a plus size!

The hemline is angled from high in the front to low in the back. My full midriff tends to pull hems up in front, so I added about an inch in length to the center front. I love how this vest falls over my curves. Both the ambiance rayon lining (which feels scrumptious!) and lines of the pattern allow for this.

The vest is a valuable addition to my winter wardrobe, as it layers easily over almost any top I've made. It's the perfect layer for keeping a touch warmer when the temperatures are cold. It can also be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. I'm loving it!

Knitted Color for a Gray Winter Day

It's been a snowy, blustery day here in Massachusetts, so I though we could use some color! This is a cowl I knit a few weeks ago. The pattern is from Knit Noro Accessories, a gorgeous book I recently picked up at my local yarn shop.

The yarn is one of my favorites, Noro Silk Garden, in two colorways. As you can see, it's a large cowl - large enough to wear as a shoulder warmer. I can also put a  shawl pin in it to hold it together more like a scarf. The slip stitch pattern is easy to do and results in the "bumpy" stripes.

With all of these gorgeous colors, it was really fun to work on.

The top you see it draped on above is a new one, made from Simplicity 3634. The fabric is a rayon lightweight double knit milled for Roberto Cavalli. The hand is beefy but the fabric surface is very smooth, much like a silk jersey. It's a delight to wear. Black can be overpowering on me, but I really wanted a black top to wear as a layering piece. This will be fine for that purpose. And it provides the perfect backdrop for the colorful cowl!

Alice + Olivia Cowl Top

I've been doing more sewing than blogging these days, for sure.  I have three completed garments that I haven't yet written about.  Obtaining good photos of me wearing my garments is a challenge.  DH does his best, but doesn't have a critical eye for seeing things that are out of place, nor does he know how to pose me for the best shots.  Oh, how I wish I lived near my professional photographer sister!  Posing for her is a delight, and her photos are the best ever!  Since we live far apart, DH's photos are good enough.

The tunic styles offered by Vogue 1261 appealed to me the moment I first set eyes upon them.  I love an uneven hemline and unusual construction techniques that result in a trendy, edgy garment.  In those aspects, this pattern is loaded.  The loose fit looked promising for my plus size figure.  I made the cowl neck version, and am very happy with the result.

The fabric is a luscious rayon jersey from Marcy Tilton.  It has good two-way stretch, which is required in this version.  The jersey doesn't curl, which was a big help in the cutting and construction processes, and necessary for smooth raw edges.  The armscyes are cut quite close to the underarm, and there are no darts, so the dual direction stretch probably helps with the fit in that area.  There are small folds under the arms, but I really didn't want to add darts, as there are so many other details in the design.  I cut the largest size, and added about an inch to the underarm seams.  I'm quite happy with the fit, although it's just a bit too wide across the chest.  If/when I make it again, I'll probably subtract a little wudth through the chest, to help draw in the fit an inch or so.

The primary design details are seams sewn wrong sides together and twin needle stitched from the wrong side.  I noticed on Pattern Review that several reviewers chose not to construct it this way, but I stuck with it and really like the look. 

I did change how the center back seam is sewn.  The instructions have you press the seams to the outside, butt the seams together, tape paper to them to stabilize the seam, and sew it with a twin needle from the inside of the garment.  This didn't really sound too stable, and seemed a bit risky, so I sewed the seam with wrong sides together, reinforced it with Design Plus fusible stabilizing tape (a great product!) and a layer of Totally Stable (another great product!) to give it stability and give enough bulk for the twin needle stitching to look good.  Since the seam was covered by interfacing and stabilizer, I drew a pencil line to guide me as I stitched.  A lot of effort, but I think it was successful.

 

I toyed with just using a zig-zag stitch on the outside, but found it was flat and I rather liked the dimensionality added by the twin needle stitching.  Removing the stabilizer was a long, tedious task that I performed in front of the TV.  It took much care, as pulling hard on it distorted the stitches.  Tweezers were an essential tool for this job!  Several layers of Solvy might have been a better product choice.

Viola, the finished seam, outside and inside:

The pattern calls for narrow ribbon to be sewn over the seam allowances, allowing the stitching to show in between.  I think that would be a great look but I knew I wouldn't find ribbon to match this fabric, so I simply trimmed the seam allowances to 3/8", and left them at that.

The reverse twin needle stitching is used on the center back collar seam, collar edge binding, and sleeve head seams.  I skipped the Totally Stable on these seams, and the stitches formed nicely.  Yards of fusible bias tape later, I finished the task.

The sleeve seams are a bit ragged because of the extra fabric resulting from easing the sleeve cap, but that just ups the funk factor.

 I love the drape of this collar.  It falls low enough that I can wear a short necklace, and it adds a bit of warmth without the close fit of a turtleneck.  Since the fabric is quite stretchy, I stabilized the neck edge with fusible tape early on in the construction process.  That prevented it from getting pulled out of shape, which would have easily occurred.

The sleeve and bottoms hems are single needle stitched 5/8" from the edge and left raw.  This was a pleasureable way to finish the tunic, as the twin needle reversed seams had taken a lot of time.  If the seams were all sewn to the inside, this would be an easy pattern to fit and sew.  If constructed as directed, the difficulty is raised a notch or two.  I'm glad I stuck with the original design, as I like wearing things that are a bit unusual.   The tunic is easy to wear, the color is soothing, and I feel very comfortable in it.  It is the first piece of my winter 6-pac, and I plan to wear it often!