Wardrobe by Me - Drop Shoulder Tee

Here is yet another pattern test for Wardrobe by Me. Christina Albeck's designs are always fabulous and on trend. This pattern was a drop shoulder tee. It can be made in woven or knit and I decided to do a mix. Buy the pattern on Etsy. Use coupon code "EASYTEE" for 30% off through October 17th.

When I first looked at the design, it was almost an exact copy of one of my favorite store bought shirts that is a v-neck coral top that is woven on front and the back is knit. It is so comfortable and versatile. So I was excited to recreate it. I decided to look through my scrap bin for a woven to use. I found a big scrap from another pattern test I did awhile back. See that blog post HERE. The fabric is a silky woven I purchased for $4/yard at Super Textiles in the Dallas Fabric District. I was originally going to use a solid color knit, but decided to use a dark teal knit that has a gold pattern printed on it. I purchased it for $1/yard at Golden D'or during one of their inventory clearance sales.

Here are all my pieces cut out. The shirt has many options, long sleeve or short, straight or curved bottom, v-neck or round. I went with the long sleeve, v-neck, and curved hem.

First step is to sew the front and back together at the shoulders.

Then the seam was ironed to the back.

Then the seam was topstitched using my coverstitch.

Then I pinned the sleeves to the top. Then serged them on.

Sleeves sewn on.

I had a little boo boo when cutting my front piece - I didn't check my placement and one side at the shoulder was messed up from a previous cut. So I cut a little off each front side shoulder and added that length to the back piece. So you can see in the photo above that the back side is forward a little bit. It's not the pattern - it's just me fixing my screw up.

Then the sides were sewn together for the bode of the top and the sleeves.

Then I hemmed the sleeves using my coverstitch.

I then hemmed the bottom using my coverstitch.

Then I sewed the neck band together.

I then pinned the band to the shirt and sewed it on. I topstitched it using my sewing machine. Doing a v-neck with the coverstitch is really difficult, so I decided to go the easy way.

Here I am in my finished top. I love it! I do wish the gold wasn't so shiny. I'm hopeful that as I wear and wash it, that it will fade. I'm really looking forward to making a few short sleeve ones for next year. I can see making a lot of these with the woven leftovers from other projects.

I made this one longer than the pattern called for since I wanted it to cover my booty and be able to wear it with my jeggings.

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Seamingly Smitten Swing Dress

I just completed my first pattern test for Seamingly Smitten. I tested the swing dress. This cute raceback swing dress will be perfect for my upcoming cruise.

But the pattern HERE. It's on sale through October 15th with the code "SAVE50".

For my fabric, I used some ITY (interlock twisted yard) knit I bought in the Dallas Fabric District for $4/yard about 2 years ago. I loved the colors and the border print and just never found the right pattern for it. This swing dress ended up being perfect for it.

Here are all my pieces cut out.

This pattern calls to line the bodice - and you can line the entire dress. The first step is to sew the pleats into the front and the lining. This caused a lot of bulk with the lining also being pleated. The final pattern calls for an un-pleated lining to reduce the bulk.

Here is a closeup of the top pleated.

Next I made the straps. First the straps were ironed in half, then opened and folded so the edges let in the center as shown below.

Then they were folded and ironed in half again.

Then I edge stitched the straps.

Then the straps were laid in place (sticking up about a half inch on the bodice) and the lining laid on top of the dress. I just lined the bodice on my dress. I then pinned everything together. Then it was sewn together from side to side. Just basting stitches are uses where the straps are.

Then the back piece and lining were sewn together - minus the top of the back - so the straps can be added later. I serged these together.

And I can't find my photos of how the straps were added to the back. You put the front inside the back piece and put the straps through and sew the opening in the photo above closed. Then try it on and see if the straps need to be adjusted.

Then it's time to sew the sides together. The lining is pulled up and you sew the sides together of the lining and the dress.

Then I topstitched the bodice. The tester version shown had a pleated lining and it caused quite a bit of bulk as you can see in this photo. The final version of the pattern has a straight lining without pleats.

The last step was to hem it. And I was done.

Here I am in my finished swing dress. I did have a few problems with my tester version, but all the problems are fixed in the final version. I'm looking forward to making one in a woven for next summer. I'll be using this one as a swimsuit coverup.

In the tester the arm holes and the back were too low. Shortening the straps only made the v-neck too high and did not really fix the problem. The final pattern raised the armholes by 2 inches.

I also made my version longer than the pattern called. I don't like to show much of my legs above the knee.

I would encourage you to see some of the other tester photos. Some ladies kept the length short and wore theirs with leggings and a cardigan for a cute fall look.

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Love Notions Laundry Day Tee

Love Notions has a new pattern out and it's free with a code.  It's the Laundry Day Tee - and trust me - you need it. You must be a member of their Facebook group to get the coupon code. The post with the free code is HERE.

This tee comes with different sleeve lengths and is a nice flowy top that's great for wearing with leggings. What makes it really great, is how figure flattering it is. It hides all the lumps and bumps.
Plus the pattern is so easy, you can whip one up in less time than it takes to dry a load of laundry.

For my first laundry day tee, I decided to use my Sea Monster Fabric from Zenith & Quasar. The Sea Monsters are from the Carta Marina. Z&Q is out of stock of the sea monsters, but still has the Carta Marina available. The poly blend knit is perfect for this pattern. It has great drape and body.

Here are all my pieces cut out.

First I sewed the front and back together at the shoulders.

Then I sewed the side seams.

Next I sewed the seams on the sleeves.

Then I turned the sleeves right side out and inserted them into the body (which was inside out) and pinned the sleeves in place. Then I serged them on.

Then I turned the shirt right side out. Sleeves are now attached.

I pinned the neck band on and serged it in place.

I pinned the sleeve bands in place and serged them on.

Then I topstitched the neck band using my coverstitch.

Then I topstitched the arm bands with the coverstitch.

Then I hemmed the top using my coverstitch.

Here I am in my finished Laundry Day Tee.

I just love this top and want to make several more. I can see me wearing these a lot this fall and winter.

Thanks!

Koerb Bros. Stitch Designs - Block the World Lounge Set

I received a strike off from PNW Fabrics recently. I had no idea what I was being sent. I received 2 different fabrics. This one was a beautiful aqua with white snowflakes. When I saw it, I immediately thought of Frozen.

Not too long ago The Fabric Geeks had a $1 panel sale. The panels I really wanted sold out really quick, but I decided to go ahead and buy a few. Some that I bought were Frozen Elsa panels. When I got the panels, a few were connected and had partial panels that were also connected. The aquas were beautiful together.

I also recently bought a pattern on sale from Koerbs Bros Stitch Designs (KBSD) called Block the World Lounge Set. Since my Elsa panels were connected like they were, I was able to use them with this pattern.

Here are my pieces.

Here is a close up look at the PNW Aqua Snowflake fabric.

I made my sleeves pieced since I did not have enough of the snowflake print for the entire sleeve.

This pattern is cut so that the seams for the body of the shirt go down the front and the back instead of the sides. Here I had sewn the front and back pieces together.

I then topstitched the seam with my coverstitch.

The coverstitch makes such a nice finish on the inside.

I also topstitch the seam on the sleeves with my coverstitch.

Next I sewed the upper bodice pieces to the front and back.

And I topstiched those seams with my coverstitch as well.

I then hemmed the shirt using my coverstitch,

I just wanted to show off the nice finish I get from my coverstitch again.

I sewed the seams of the sleeves.

I then sewed the bands for the neck and sleeves.

Then I turned them right side out and ironed them in half.

I added the bands the the sleeves. Then I sewed the sleeves onto the body of the shirt.

Then I sewed the band to the neck.

Here is the front of my finished shirt.

Closeup of Elsa and the snowflakes.

Here is the back side. What you see on the left is the edges of 4 panels where they join.

I'm so happy with how this turned out. This is a kids size 10/12 and will be up for auction in the Weekly Auction for Gwen:Cancer Warrior. Date to be announced.

Thanks!