New Look 6249 in Bellagio Italian Knit.

New Look 6249

It has been an extra cold winter this year and I have really been feeling it. We had snow falls on the Tablelands just last week...a very rare occurrence. I live a few hundred metres from the ocean and we don't even experience frosts here, but it has been freezing. I was in desperate need of something warm to throw over my work outfits.

I wanted something simple, loose fitting and most importantly, WARM. I found a suitable fabric online from Knitwit in Perth, Western Australia. A Bellagio Italian Knit which is described as a beautiful warm fabric to make stylish coats, jackets or capes. I then went on the hunt for a suitable pattern.

I ended up choosing New Look 6249 which was available at my local Bargain Box Fabric.

Originally, I chose view A (the one on the model with the shark bite high low hem) but when the fabric arrived and I realised how thick and bulky it was, I revised my plans. I ended up going with view B and lengthening it by 18cm.

I made a size medium which turned out just right. There is plenty of room to fit a cardigan or jumper underneath without feeling constricted at all. The addition to the length turned out very well too (which was the maximum I could add due to fabric restrictions). 

I love the subtle cocoon shape from the back. This works well with long pants or pencil skirts.

The shoulders are quite dropped and the fit is very loose. There are no closures.

The pockets are very roomy and are great for keeping your hands warm. They were very easy to construct. After finishing off the raw top edge and turning inside, the lower edge of the pocket is sewn to the front. The two sides are then secured in the side seam and the front band seam. If I make this up again I would lower the pockets slightly, as I find them to be a little high.

Another change I made to the pattern was to finish off the sleeves with bands. The pattern says to sew a deep hem and then turn back to form a cuff. This fabric was very bulky and that would have been four layers in the cuff. I cut about 18cm off the length of the sleeves. I folded the off cut in half forming a band and then reattached it to the sleeve. This had a similar look to a cuff without the extra bulk.

I used my sewing machine with the walking foot to sew all the seams on this jacket. It handled the bulk with ease. I used the overlocker to finish off the raw edges. It did struggle with anything more than two layers but I got there in the end. I pressed the seams open to make them less bulky. The hem was sewn by hand and the hand stitching just disappeared into the fabric. I also hand stitched the overlocked edge of the front band down for a neater finish.

The shawl collar can be worn standing up on those very cold mornings to keep you extra warm.

Or folded over, as the pattern intended. Either way looks fine.

This jacket has been worn almost daily since I finished it and has been a most welcome addition to my wardrobe, and it is very warm too.


Happy Sewing

New Look 6071 Revisited

New Look 6071...number4

This is the fourth time I have made New Look 6071. It is just such a flattering style and I don't think I have finished with this pattern yet. Unfortunately I think it has just become OOP, so if you want to give it a try you had better get in quick.

The first three versions I made were all pre blog, but I still wear them a lot.

First version

The first version I made was sleeveless and I used a size 14. This was a little big and the back neck gaped.

Second version

For the second version I went down to a size 12 and added short sleeves. I also cut the neck binding a couple of sizes smaller than the pattern. This eliminated the back neck gape.

Third version

For the third version I stuck with the size 12 with shortened neck binding, but used the long sleeves.

Fourth version

For my most recent version I used a size 14 because I made it with a ponte which was a lot thicker and less stretchy than the previous fabrics used. This paid off and the fit is pretty good. I also lengthened it by 8cm. Sorry about these dreadful photos. I really should have worn my sunglasses to avoid that awful squinty look, but your only supposed to be looking at the dress...right?

Side View

Back view

I just love the clever cross over front. It is really flattering and even though it is quite a plunging neckline, it hugs the curves and doesn't gape at all.

Bodice detail

Back neckline finished with self fabric binding.

By shortening the length of the neckline binding by two sizes and stretching to fit, has eliminated any gaping. The neckline now sits nice and close to the body.

Hems sewn with a twin needle.

I turned the hem up 3cm and stitched with a twin needle. This ponte is lovely and stable and the hem turned out nice and neat, without any skipped stitches. I sewed the majority of seams on the overlocker and I set the sleeves in flat, as I do with all knits.

I am really pleased with how this dress turned out and I think it will be a real workhorse in my work wardrobe. You have already had a sneak peak in my Me Made May round up from last week when I wore it for the first time, hot off the sewing machine.

Happy Sewing

The Perfect Fit (the finished result)

It has been a long road and a steep learning curve, but I have finally finished the outfit previously blogged about here. I had challenged myself to make an outfit, combining elements from three different patterns and putting into practice the fitting skills I had learnt from the Craftsy class Sew The Perfect Fit with Lynda Maynard. The outfit was to wear to my nephew's wedding so I was under pressure to have it completed by September 7th. I finished with a couple of days to spare.

Here are some photos taken at the hotel where we stayed just before leaving for the wedding.

Front view

Back View (this makes me look very bow legged)

I used the bodice from New Look 6130, the sleeves from Vogue 8766 and the skirt was BHL Charlotte Skirt. The fabric I used was Purple Rose Brocade purchased from Spotlight and I used a black anti static Italian Lining also purchased from Spotlight. The brocade frayed madly the minute it was cut, so I overlocked the raw edges as soon as possible. This seemed to keep the fraying under control. 

Peplum detail

I loved how the peplum turned out. Because the brocade was quite stiff, it gave the peplum plenty of body. I ironed the pleats right down to the edge to get them to sit properly. It was difficult to iron a straight crease in the areas cut on the bias, so they are not perfect.

Neckline and bodice.

I was very pleased with how nicely the neckline sat with no gaping. It really is well worth the effort of making a muslin and getting the fit right.

Darts at the sleevehead

Here is a close up of the darts at the sleevehead. I love how neatly they shaped the sleeve and it was very easy to ease into the armscye.

Invisible zip

I was very pleased with my invisible zip insertion. It worked perfectly, first go and even matched the waist seam perfectly. I used the tutorial from The Coletterie. 

To hem the peplum there was one corner that needed to be mitred. I had to practice a lot on some scraps because it was not a perfect right angle and I new that the brocade would not be very forgiving if I stuffed up and had to unpick. To my amazement, it turned out really neat.

Mitred corner right side.

Mitred corner wrong side

Here are some detailed shots of the inside and lining.

Back

Front. I used purchased satin bias binding to cover the overlocked edge of the facing.

Inside sleeve hem. Satin bias binding used as hem tape.

Back. I bound the end of the zip because it was loo long and I had to shorten it.

The lining was sewed by machine to the neckline and the zip, and then hand sewn at the sleeves and the waist.

I had to make quite a few fitting changes to the Charlotte Skirt. I removed 2.5cm from the top of the skirt, which shortened the darts and I reshaped the side seams to match my curves (or lack of). I removed another 7cm from the bottom of the skirt before hemming. This skirt pattern is very long. I also added a slit at the back seam. Without this, it was impossible to walk in this skirt. I was surprised this was not included in the pattern or instructions.

Back slit to enable walking.

Inside back slit.

This inside shot reveals my big mistake. This is why you should not sew late at night when you are too tired to be thinking straight. I cut the lining too short. I had cut off 7cm from the brocade at the hemline, so I proceeded to cut an extra 2 cm off the lining, so that it would be 2cm shorter than the skirt. (But I forgot that I added the satin bias tape to finish off the hem). Too bad...I was not going to start again.

I attached the lining to the slit by machine so that it would not show. This is a technique I clearly need to improve on.

Lining hem

I used a decorative machine stitch to sew the lining hem.

I have learned a lot during the planning and construction of this outfit, and improved some of my sewing skills. I am convinced that it is definitely worth the effort of making a muslin to get the fit right before cutting into the good fabric.

A couple of shots from the wedding

 A big thank you to my Mum for all her help during the fitting process. I couldn't have done it without her.

Me with my two sisters. Didn't the colours of our outfits look pretty together?

Now onto the next project...

Happy Sewing

The Perfect Fit ( a work in progress)

My nephew is tying the knot in September and I have been told it will be a formal affair. I have been thinking and planning my outfit over the last month or so. Recently I took a class on Craftsy Sew The Perfect Fit with Lynda Maynard. I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to try out my newly gained skills or see if I actually learned anything at all. I really can't recommend this class enough. Lynda Maynard has a wonderful teaching style. She is organised and methodical in her teaching method, which makes the class very easy to follow. She clearly demonstrates different fitting woes and the way to correct them, on real life models (and they are not all Barbie doll shapes). She then, very methodically demonstrates how to transfer these changes to the paper pattern. It's almost magical.  The pattern used for this class is Vogue 8766.

I had a few patterns that I liked certain bits of. So I thought I would combine three different patterns to create my outfit. These are:

I love the princess seams and the shaped peplum of View C and the neckline of View A.

VOGUE 8766: I love the 3/4 sleeves. They have 3 small darts at the sleeve cap to shape them.

BHL Charlotte Skirt: I love the highwaisted skirt and the shaping and length.

I started off making a calico muslin of the bodice. The only drawback is that you really need someone to help you with identifying your fitting issues, once you have made up the muslin. My dear partner struggles to pin two pieces of fabric together without the pins falling out two seconds later, so I had to rope my Mum in to help. She really struggled with the idea of slashing the muslin and adding in strips of fabric to correct the fit. It took me quite a lot of convincing that it was only a muslin (never intended to ever be worn), and it was ok to cut holes in it. She was very worried that she would ruin it.

My slashed muslin with strips of fabric added.

There was quite a bit of slashing to do, to get this pattern to fit my body. I am quite rectangular, not much waist definition. I am really hoping that the peplum is going to give the illusion of a waist.

Here are the changes added to the paper pattern.

Using my altered pattern I created a second muslin of the bodice to double check that my alterations were correct. I included the sleeve this time. I had to add more circumference to the sleeve head, tapering to the sleeve hem, to fit the bodice armscye. This worked out surprisingly well.

Notice the small darts in the sleeve head.

I decided that I wanted to use a brocade fabric to construct my outfit. I had either a royal blue or an emerald green colour in mind. I should have learned by now, that the fabric shop will never have what I have in mind. It would eliminate the inevitable disappointment. Anyway, after a two hour trip to the nearest Spotlight (on route to return my daughter to the airport), I emerged from the shop with this Purple Rose Brocade.

Purple Rose Brocade purchased from Spotlight ( the colour is deeper in reality...hard to photograph)

I suspect this is 100% polyester. It is quite stiff and frays like crazy when cut. I paid $19.99 per metre which I thought was quite expensive, but I had little choice. I guess I am starting to warm to it.

Stay tuned for the next progress report.


Happy Sewing.

A Very Simple Skirt and Top

After seeing Sew, Stash, Sew's version of the Style Arc Fay Skirt, I was inspired to give it a go. It is such a simple design with only one pattern piece, yet it has lovely shaping built in. After sewing the side seams together, you simply turn the tube of fabric back in on itself, creating a fully lined skirt (no hem required), and is finished off with a simple elasticised waist. This is a very fast make and a great instant gratification project.

Fay Skirt

I made the size 10, based on my hip measurements, but this turned out a little snug. (No fault of the pattern, more likely the few extra pounds I have gained over winter). Here is my version:

Front

Side

Back

I used a silky jersey purchased online from The Remnant Warehouse. 

Elasticised waist

To do the waist elastic: I measured the required size and added a couple of cm's for the overlap. I joined the elastic ends by overlapping and stitching several times to make sure the join is secure. Then I divided up the elastic loop into quarters and did the same with the waistline on the skirt. I then pinned the elastic to the inside edge of the skirt, aligning the top edges and matching the quarter points. I then overlocked the elastic to the skirt, stretching the elastic to fit the skirt as I went. You then turn the top edge to the inside folding over the elastic and stitch down from the right side. I used a zigzag stitch to allow some stretch.

Fully lined skirt. Nothing to hem.

Even though this is quite a close fitting skirt, it doesn't cling due to the self lining, which I have found allows the skirt to hang nicely.

I had some left over jersey from my purple Style Arc Nina Cardigan which matched quite well with my Style Arc Fay Skirt so I made a top to wear with it from New Look 6150 View D. I love the simple style of this pattern, the boat neck and the general shape. I cut a size 14 in the shoulders, grading in to a 12 below the arm hole. 

Front

Back

Sleeve cap slightly gathered.

Woops! Action shot when I dropped the camera remote control.

A nice simple outfit, quick and easy to make. I think I will get a lot of wear out of this one. Great "date night" outfit for when my partner takes me out for dinner (usually once a week). Yes, I know, I am very fortunate.

Happy Sewing.