Sewing Scientist: August 2020

Love Notions Forte Top and Sly Fox Fabrics

Sly Fox Fabrics recently moved, changed ownership, and they just reopened shop. They are ready for fall with some great fabrics. As much as I love summer, there is a small part of me that looks forward to fall. planted pumpkins this year and I am so ready to make all the pumpkin things! My plants are just now growing, so until I have some pumpkins to play with, I better work on a few new items for my fall work from home wardrobe.

This DTY knit called my name. The print is called Maverick in Rust. It combines a few things I love. Once upon a time before I made all my clothes, my husband would have told you that my entire closet was brown. I do have a think for brown clothing. It's my favorite neutral. The little hippie in me also loves anything paisley and bonus if it has a retro feel. This definitely checks both boxes.

I recently got new glasses and they are a tortoise shell with bits of blue (you can see a very large chunk of blue right between my eyes - it kind of bugs me and almost makes me want to see if they have another frame without a blue blob right there). My glasses match my new top perfectly!

My top is the Love Notions Forte Top and Dress. I bought this pattern a very long time ago. I am making a lot of progress on making those patterns that have been collecting digital dust on my computer. I immediately thought that the Forte would have just enough of a retro vibe to be perfect for this fabric. I mean- look at that bell sleeve!

To complete my outfit, I paired my Forte Top with my Designer Stitch Harper Pants.

I'm dressed for fall, but I'll be waiting a while longer for fall to get here. Be sure to check out the fabric selection on the Sly Fox Fabrics website. They offer flat rate shipping and have a great range of products.

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Made Whimsy The Mambo Returns

Fans of Made Whimsy fabric have been begging Mandy to bring back the Mambo Round and She finally did! The Mambo Returns brings back the Dirty Dancing classic inspired designs.

A new base fabric being offered is called Squishy. It is just that - squishy. It's a double sided stretch minky that is so soft and cuddly that I honestly just want to wrap myself in it. So I decided to make a vest.

I have not had a whole lot of time to sew, so I needed a quick and easy pattern. I decided to make the George + Ginger Everyday Circle Vest. This is a free pattern and is found in the files section of the Facebook group. This LINK should take you straight to the pattern if you are a member of the group.

This was the easiest way I could find to just wrap myself up in this squishy goodness. I only had a yard of this squishy knit and the Everyday Circle Vest is designed to take 1.5 yards. I took 15" out of the length from right in the middle to get it to fit onto 1 yard. That required me to place the armholes in a new position. and the proportions are a bit different than the pattern is drafted.

I do still need to put a few finishing touches on this vest. I plan to put fold over elastic (foe) around the armholes to ensure they don't lose their shape. I'm also thinking about hemming it with foe - but will see how the armholes turn out before I try that. I may just go with a binding.

I should probably mention that this is the Mambo Dancers pattern in teal. It also comes on cotton lycra and cotton woven. This print also comes in a pink and a pink striped version as well.

Now - a little fun thing about my Everyday Circle Vest - since I made mine shorter, I thought I'd try wearing it upside down and inside out.

There are a few companies out there that have some cardigans that can be worn upside down. Usually the upside down wearing style has a hood or large shawl collar. I could have laid this over my head, but it was not very attractive.

However, I do love the large shawl like collar it creates.

I think this is a really fun way to wear this vest and it has me itching to make one in a solid color.

I can cover my shoulders and neck well this way.

I also received some cotton woven samples to sew and of course that meant I needed to make some masks. Here's the striped version of the Mambo Dancers.

This is the teal Mambo Dancers that matches my vest. I used a new to me mask pattern and it is a little too big for my face.

This is the pink version of the Mambo Dancers.

Here I am with all the masks that I made!

I haven't counted them yet - but there are a bunch! I will be taking them to my next infusion appointment to give out to the other patients.

The Mambo Preorder closes on September 8th. Preorder at https://www.madewhimsy.com/the-mambo-returns/

Greenstyle Creations Solo Tank for Election Season

It is still hot in Texas, August is actually the hottest month here. November is the month when our temperature make the biggest drop. But November often starts off warm. Texas weather can be unpredictable. On Halloween you never can say for sure if you need to dress warmly or not to go trick or treating and you have to be prepared to add layers at the last minute. So when I got this "A Woman's Place" panel from Zenith & Quasar Fabric, I knew it would probably get the most wear as an athletic tank top. I'm still working from home and walking at lunch - as long as the heat index is under 100.

Coincidentally - I finished this tank top the day Joe Biden announced that Kamala Harris would be his running mate. My tank top is the Solo Tank from Greenstyle Creations. This panel is available for preorder at Zenith & Quasar, but on a more traditional blue background. The panels are one yard and was big enough to make this tank and I used my scraps to make a few face masks. I plan to wear the heck out of this tank from now until Election Day - and beyond!

It's called the Solo Tank because the armholes are so low. I was concerned that on my 5' tall frame where a lot of my shortness is in my torso, that the armholes would be so low that they would go down to my waist. I looked through the listing photos and found that on the persons of known average height, that the armholes went down to the band of their sports bra - and not below it.

To ensure that I got that same fit I removed 1.5" from the length above the bust, just below the neckline. I added that 1.5" back to the length at the bottom hem as I liked the idea of having a longer tank that would give me some booty coverage.

I also decided that a new pair of Cavallo Leggings would not hurt either. I made this pair with a denim print swim knit from Sew Fit Fabrics. This swim is a bit thin and slippery. I thought I would sew these using a faux flatlock on my serger to make things a little easier on myself.

I love the design of the front pockets on the Cavallos. See the cool denim print of this swim knit! I had to cut my waistband across the grain though. I could have done it properly if I had used the side seam waistband, but didn't think about it until it was too late.

I also love the butt shaping seams. You can see here that the thinness of the swim allows my pantylines to show through. Another reason why I need to have a tank that covers my booty. I did a reverse coverstitch on the waistband seam and the crotch seam. Right where the two connect is always the point of failure for me on leggings. So I always try to reinforce both to prevent them from popping.

The Cavallos have become my favorite pattern for a solid color leggings or all one print legging. I don't find that using the pieces for colorblocking to be a very good look if you have big thighs like me. I love not having an inseam. It makes these so comfortable. One thing I omitted from this pair was the straight stitch line for the bottom of the pocket. I felt like it wasn't necessary. The only thing going in my pocket is my phone and it's not going to get lost down in that point.

I immediately wore this set for a walk on a Friday morning (I had taken the day off). I passed more people than usual on my walks and got many compliments on my tank. I then returned home and took these photos. It was hot and humid and I was still hot and red faced for these. I did put on lipstick first. I also did a happy dance to know that none of my seams busted on my walk. I love using a faux flatlock, but those seams make me so nervous! I am thinking about doing a reverse coverstitch on the booty seam to the bottom of the pocket. I know I am okay without it, but it will keep me from feeling my butt every few blocks to make sure my booty hasn't busted out. Not that I might have done that on my Friday morning walk.

Both the Solo Tank and the Cavallo Leggings are on sale for the month of August! The Solo Tank is going to be a great easy to wear tank for any activity. The Cavallo Leggings are just amazing and so comfortable. I plan to make a few more pairs in heavy supplex for my fall and winter walks. Plus, I think they will look really cute with my boots and sweaters for a casual look while I work from home.

Ellie & Mac Slow Sunday Top

I'm on the PDF Ellie and Mac Sewing Pattern Group Blog today talking about the Slow Sunday Top and show three that I made each using a different kind of fabric. Read it here https://www.ellieandmac.com/blogs/blog/comparing-diffferent-fabrics-for-the-slow-sunday-top

Mood Sewciety D'arcy Bralette

I have enjoyed trying a few of the free patterns from Mood Fabrics that are call the Mood Sewciety. There is a plethora of them. Some have been excellent with well written instructions, and some have not been so great. This is the D'arcy Bralette and I'll call this one a bit iffy. I definitely would consider a few changes to the construction. Note that when you download the pattern, that is all you get. You have to view the webpage for the pattern for the instructions.

I used the A/B cup and ended up cutting a few sizes smaller than I measured. I initially made the size I measured and when I held the cup to my breast, there was a huge difference. It was way too big. The pattern is intended to be a lace covered bralette, but I just wanted something simple. The instructions merely have you turn and topstitch the edges and that just did not sound very finished, so I opted to finish my edges with fold over elastic.

I really do love how the back straps are attached. I used a bra strapping from the Bramakery and love it. However, I failed to make sure it was on straight before taking this photo. There is not a twist in my strap, I was just changing in a hurry photographing multiple bras./bralettes on the same day. I also failed to add a slider to my strap before attaching it and ended up without adjustable straps.

I had already attached the rings to the front and just did the straps in the completely wrong order. Even though I was not crazy about the instructions for this bralette, it still would make it onto my list of ones I would make again. The pattern also includes instructions for adding some additional straps, but I didn't feel like they were necessary.

I used yoga swim spandex from Zenith & Quasar for this bralette. This bralette is a single layer of fabric. I am tempted to try a lined version with cups.