Everything Your Mama Made - Get Moving Leggings and Zenith & Quasar Winter Weight Supplex

I have loved every pattern I have made from Everything Your Mama Made (EYMM), and this one is no exception. I've tried several "legging" or "tights" patterns and have not found one that I absolutely love. So I decided to give the EYMM "Get Moving" leggings a try. I do like this one - but it's not quite love - but it is so close!  But I think I can make some adjustments to my next pair to make it love.

The wonderful Lilly Himrod of Zenith & Quasar sent me some of her new winter weight supplex to try  out. I'm already in love with the regular supplex and was so excited to try the heavier winter weight. The fabric content is 45% Supplex Nylon, 42% Polyester, and 13%Lycra Spandex and weighs a whopping 280 GSM. It has the same stretching ability as the regular supplex 50% in every direction and is so soft. You can buy the supplex at www.zenithandquasar.com for $20/yard - and I can make a pair of legging from 1 yard.

I used the heathered navy for my leggings. Here are my pieces.

Here's an up close look at the heathered Navy Supplex.

The EYMM pattern has you sew the front and back seams first. I used my serger for this.

Since the seams were easy to get to - I decided to topstitch them with my coverstitch for reinforcement.

This is what the seam now looks like on the inside.

Then the pattern called for the inseam of the legs to be sewn. I also did this on my serger and I sewed from the crotch to the ankle of each leg. After sewing the legs - I was seriously wondering if they would fit. They looked so narrow.

Now for the waistband. First I sewed the ends together. I often cut my waistband perpendicular to the leggings so that it fits on the yard of fabric. Since this fabric has the same amount of stretch in every direction, it doesn't affect the fit and I like the contrast when it's sewn on.

I folded the band in half and attached it with my serger.

Then I used my coverstitch to topstitch the seam of the band. This also reinforces the seam.

Then I hemmed them using my coverstitch. I'm super short at only 5' tall and I could have taken about 3 inches off the bottom of the leggings.

Here I am in the leggings. I paired them with a solid navy Laundry Day Tee (Love Notions - Free Pattern), patterned infinity scarf and dark brown sherpa lined boots.

The rise on these is perfect! On my next pair, I may tak an inch off of the height, but really I like them to reach my belly button.

Again - the rise is perfect and creates a nice smooth front.

Although the legs were slimmer tan I like - they did fit. And as you can see in this photo there wasn't any pulling at the seams. However, I do think I'll make the legs about an inch wider on my next pair just so I don't feel quite so constricted.

So far, this is the best legging pattern I have tried and I will definitely be making more - just with a few minor tweaks.

Sweater Upcycle

I have a sweater that I just love how it fits, but last time I wore it I noticed a small hole in the sleeve. I've tried darning holes in  sweaters before and have never been happy with how they turn out - or they just end up opening back up. So I decided to take the sleeves off and replace them with knit sleeves.

Here is the sweater.

Here is the fabric I decided to use for the sleeves. This is a European organic cotton made by Kapynen and this print is called "Dodo". I purchased it from Emrose Fabrics - they are out o stock on this print. Jumping June Textiles still has it in stock.

First I cut the sleeve off that had the hole. I decided I would keep the cuffs and reuse them.

Here's the hole.

The sleeves had gathers at the top, but I really didn't want gathers in the new sleeves so I measured the top where the gathers were.

Then I laid the sleeve on my fabric and gathered the top of the sleeve to be about the width that I measured.

Here is the sleeve laid out on my fabric ready to cut.

I then cut both sleeves out and cut about 1/2 and inch from the holey sleeve to account for a seam allowance. I also added a little length to the sleeves. They were long enough, but my hands get cold at work and I like it when they cover my hands to my fingers.

Here is what the sleeves look like cut out.

Now to sew the inseam of the sleeves.

Now I pinned them to the body making sure the top part matched.

Then I serged them on and added the cuffs.

Here is the finished sweater.

I tried it on and it still fits great without the gathers in the sleeve. I'm so happy it turned out good. Now I can love my sweater longer.

Fawnette Fabrics - Fancy Cats!

I was so excited to get a chance to sew a strikeoff for Fawnette Fabrics. They are a new custom knit group and their first round had a really cute cat print. Then they ran a flash round of the cat print in different colors - I was boring and bought it in black & white and a grey version. Check out their website - http://fawnettefabrics.tictail.com/. They are out of stock on the cats - but take a look at how cute they are.

Now they are on Round 2 and have "Fancy Cats" and a matching stripe. The Fancy Cats are very whimsical and fun. Fawnette prints on a 95% cotton 5% spandex base fabric with a 220 gsm weight. It feels so soft and I love this weight - nice and thick.

I originally wanted to make the Hey June Aurora Tee with the fabric - but that pattern was a little too wide for the fabric I had. I noticed the pieces were extremely similar to an Anna Maria Horner (AMH) pattern I had - the Lemon Drop Tee. So I took it out and laid it on the fabric - and it was slightly narrower - just enough to work. So I decided to cut the bottom sides of the lemon drop tee to look like the aurora tee.

Here are all my pieces cut out.

Here is a close up of Fancy Cats. I love the wallpapered wall with cat portraits look.



First I sewed the side panels onto the front and back pieces.

Then I topstitched the seam on my coverstitch.

Close up view of my coverstitching.



When I was topstitching I notice a very small hole in the fabric and grabbed a scrap of fusible interfacing (I happened to have some black) and ironed a small piece to the back to keep the hole from getting bigger or being noticeable.

Then it was time to add the neck band. 

Then I topstitched it down with my trusty coverstitch.

Then I added the lower sleeve piece to the body (which had a cap/short sleeve already).

Then I sewed the side seams and hemmed the sleeves and the bottom.

Here I am in my shirt!

I even made a shirt for my cat with some scraps.

Me trying to show off the side panels - and the cute striped coordinate.



KZJO' Studio - Cosette - Pattern of the Month

The Cosette is the pattern of the month for November at KZJO' Studio. It's on sale for $6.75 through November 30th.

Kaysie (aka KZ) of KZJO' Studio has great patterns. One thing I love about her patterns is that she designs for a "real" woman that has hips! Most of her patterns have a slight curve to the hip area and makes them fit really great.

I was a pattern tester for the Cosette awhile back - you can read about it HERE.

The Cosette is a very unique top. It's a great pattern that uses woven fabrics and is especially good for flannels for a fall top. The side panels are cut on the bias which adds interest and gives some ease to the fit. The way the front and back are shaped (like an hourglass) really helps to emphasize the waistline creating a slimming silhouette.

I decided to hack this pattern for this month. It's a fairly simple hack. I replaced the side panels and sleeves with a knit. I also sized down when doing this hack since the knit will give more ease to the pattern.

The top below I made using a pieced woven (purchased this way) that I probably bought dirt cheap or picked up for free since it was a small remnant and some black baby rib knit. The front and back of the top are woven and the side panels are knit. Since I used knit for the side panels - there was no need to cut them on the bias. I really love how this top came out.

Here is a second Cosette I made. The Front and Back are a Birch Organic flannel - I bought it at the Wherehouse Fabric Outlet in the Dallas Fabric District for $2.50 for the 1 yard piece. The sleeves and side panels are a french terry that I purchased at C&C Fabrics - also in the Dallas Fabric District for $1/yard! I really love how this one came out. It's so warm and cozy. Excuse my crazy hair - the winds were howling at 30 mph.

Diamond Peplum Top - Sugar Ink Peacock Feathers

*****UPDATE*****

I entered my top in the Pattern Anthology Unbiased Collection Contest and I am a finalist for the Grand Prize! Please do me a favor and vote for my top. Voting is quick and easy - and ends on Saturday. The winner will be announced on Monday. Vote HERE.

http://patternanthology.com/pages/unbiased-contest-rules

Thanks!!!

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I received a strike off of these gorgeous peacock feather print from Sugar Ink Fabric. Sugar Ink's cotton lycra fabric is printed in Europe on GOTS certified organic cotton lycra - and it's wonderful! This print will be available for pre-order beginning November 27th on their website - www.sugarinkfabric.com. 

The peacock feather kaleidoscope print is named Pavoescence. The colors in it are beautiful - jade green, deep dark purple, ruby red, indigo blue, and many colors in between. The pattern is playful, yet sophisticated. 

The pattern I used is the Diamond Dress and Top from Shwin Designs. I bought it from Pattern Anthology as part if the Unbiased Collection. This pattern will be on sale for one day only for $3! Use the code "Diamond" to get the sale price on November 15th HERE. 

Here are a few photos of me in my Diamond Top. I love this pattern and how you can do color blocking. It's hard to tell from my photos, but the center front of the top is shaped like a diamond. The back piece wraps around to the front to make the triangles on the lower sides on the diamond. 

I went with the flared peplum bottom. The pattern also has a gathered bottom option.

Pink Zeppelin Poly Lycra Jersey Knit Peacock Feathers

Are you curious about the poly lycra Pink Zeppelin Fabrics is now offering? Yvi Osorio sent me a strike off. Here's my take on it. 

It's lightweight - nothing like what is offered by Cuddle Muffins or Zenith & Quasar. But that's okay. That makes this poly more drapey - it's very fluid. It would be great for those summery tops, dress, and skirts that need a lot of drape or are very flowy. 

It feels silky. I wasn't sure at first what I had. It has almost a swim feel, but not quite - it's almost like active wear. 

It has great stretch and recovery side to side, and has some vertical stretch (about 20%). 

The print is crisp and the colors are rich and amazingly vivid. 

I also love the price - it's $15/yard! 

I'll definitely buy this in addition to the cotton lycra. I can see using this for a lot of patterns where cotton lycra doesn't have enough drape to look right. The top I made is the Lotus Blossom Top from Love Notions. I made this top before in a custom cotton lycra (See post HERE) and was unhappy with the result since it did not drape properly for this pattern. So go give Yvi's poly lycra a try. The preorder closes on November 6th.

This is a closeup shot of the front of the top - to show the great drape and vivid colors.

Me in the top.

The back detail on this top is so cute and great for when you don't have enough fabric for the front and back since you can add a little of the design fabric to the top of the back.

Another photo of me in the top - since the top makes me look so thin.

And another - I need ,ore of these tops in a drapey fabric. I need to find a way to make it long sleeve.