Linen Tunic V8708 Done!!!

Yawzah!  LOL.  I'm really lovin this tunic.  I've taken several shots of the inside because I wanted you to see all of the finish work I did.  Every single seam has been serged and top stitched.  With a loose weave like linen, you really do need to finish every seam.  

I wanted you to see the shirt on Ruby first.  Notice anything?  I modeled it and really thought I would like it much better if I added shoulder pads.  My shoulders slope a bit so by adding a 3/8" pad, its leveled and is much nicer in my opinion.

Here you can see the actual shoulder pads.  They are removable.  I hate how these simple pattern finish the collar on the inside so I used a strip of bias fabric in a matching print.  Much nicer.  I also attached one of my newer labels.  I'm not sure I'll like it, but we'll try it and see.  You can see some of the finishing I've done to the inside.

Another inside view, this time of the front.  I love how using a couple layers of tear-away stabilizer leaves such a nice, clean finish on the inside.

And finally, here I am...squinting in the late afternoon sun...out in the cold...freezing my patootie all for the blog.  LOL.  I didn't wear the new grey jeans as they are in the wash.  But I am wearing the blue ones.  I love the easy, wear-ability of this top.  I was looking through the stash and spotted several likely candidates for more versions.  I have some black peach skin and a black stripe, a black jacquard.  Oh well you get it.  LOL.  It's pretty obvious I like it. 

Later!

Just a Peek...

I'm almost finished sewing this tunic.  It's very easy and I do recommend it.  But for the beginner, it has almost no finishing of inside seams.  Nowhere in the pattern instructions did it say to finish the inside lapel facing.  HUH?  You've got to be kidding right?  The first time they would launder the shirt, it would be a raveled mess. That's my only beef with this pattern.  Otherwise, I love it.  I can see several more versions of this pattern being added to my wardrobe.  I only have to hem it, embroider buttonholes and sew on the buttons and I will take more detailed pictures.  But just so you don't think I would post about it and not give you a peek, here it is.  LOL.  Keep in mind it still needs pressing. 

More Soon!

Tunic progress...

I've completed the embroidery and cut out the left front.  I'm happy with the results.  

The nice thing about marking your pattern on the fabric and then doing the embroidery is that you can move the pattern around on the fabric after you done the embroidery.  You know, in case you didn't quite get the embroidery where you originally intended?  LOL.  Another plus to doing embroidery before cutting is the shrinkage that can occur when you embroider. 

I'll start the construction and get back to you all soon.

More later!

Quick, Easy Tunic...

 Ha!  I usually find a way to make something not so quick or easy.  LOL. 

Today I'm starting what should be an easy Vogue tunic pattern.  I saw V8708 made up in Vogue Pattern magazine an issue or two back and liked what I saw.  I already had the pattern in my stash.  It just so happens that gray is really hot this fall.  And that turns out to be really convenient as I've been making a few things out different grays like the jeans I just finished.  I have a nice washed grey linen I picked up from The Cloth Merchants and will be making a loose, easy going top.  I'll be making view B, the blue top in the center.


I also thought I would like some embroidery.  Come on!  LOL.  You know me by now.  I have to put embroidery on almost everything!  And this top is such a blank canvas that needs something to pick it up a notch.  You know the chef that hosts "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives"?  Guy Fieri?  Well I just love the shirts he wears.  You know, with embroidery or screen printing down one side of the shirt or even both?  I thought it might be cool if I tried something like that on this tunic top.  Why should the guys only have cool shirts anyway?

So started playing around and came up with this concept picture.   


I'm playing around with different designs to make this vertical border.  I've also cut out all the pieces except the left front.  I'm going to embroider it first, then cut it out.  As you know from following for awhile, this is my normal mode of embroidery.  


If this shirt turns out, I may be making several, especially since it looks pretty comfy.  

I've debuted several designs and this is my fav.  It's fairly large, at just a bit over 5X7.  Because I had a fabric sample cut, I reduced it just a bit to make it fit the 5X7 hoop.  I using 2 layers of Sulky's Tear Easy tear-away stabilizer and that proved to be just right for this design.  I want to be able to remove most, if not all of the stabilizer.


Remember by clicking on the picture, you can enlarge to get a better view of the design.  


I'll have more for you tomorrow!

M5984 Progress & lousy photos

It's late afternoon and my pictures aren't very good.  Arghhh.  

Here's the front put together.  TWICE.  Yes twice.  This jacket is seriously loose fitting.  I put it together the first time and put it on Ruby and it was like WHOAAA.  LOL.  So, I took it apart and cut the pieces down from a 16 to a 14.  Put it together again and its still loose but its a loose I can live with. 

I also put the pockets together about 15 times yesterday.  I guess my head wasn't in the game and I just didn't realize it.  LOL.  I kept putting them wrong side to right side.  Gah...

Here's a side view.  If you look at the armhole area, you'll see that I need to reshape it.  I did topstitch all the seams to give it a more casual look.

Next lousy picture.  Grin.  This is the collar before cutting it out.  I've laid out the piece and drawn a chalk line around it.  Next I'll embroider it.  Actually embroider both pieces and then seam them together.

That's all I've got for today. 

Later!

Embroidered Pieces...

I've completed the embroidery on 2 large pieces of fabric; one of which is shown is the picture.  For this pattern, I'm using PerfectFuse LIGHT as my interfacing which also shows in the picture.

I don't remember if I've mentioned it, but I've been looking around the Internet for a steam press for block fusing.  I finally found what I was looking for at a price I felt I could afford without saying ouch!  LOL.  I put this new toy tool to use this weekend to fuse these large pieces.  Wow!  I love this thing!  I really like my Reliable Iron so I started looking at Reliables other products.  I found they produce 2 steam presses; the Empressa S330 and the S550.  The difference between the two is size.  The S330 is 25"X10" and the S550 is 34"X11".  I started looking around on Ebay and found a company that sells factory reconditioned 550's with a one year warranty (same as a brand new 550) for half the MSRP.  Yes...half the price!!!   So I purchased the S550.  It's a great machine.  Love it, love it, love it.  LOL.

Here's a pic of my new baby!

And this shows how large the pressing surface is.

Pretty cool, eh?   I have constructed both pocket welts and cut out the front pieces from the embroidered fabric I created.  Now I'm off to sew.  

More later!

M5954 Embroidery test run

  Here is my selection from testing different embroidery designs.  This is one of the front v-shaped sections that will form part of the lapel.  I just love the classy look of tone on tone embroidery, don't you?  It's going to take me awhile to make the embroidered fabric.  There are 4 v-shaped pieces and 2 collar pieces.  And...if I decide to have the collar standing up, there will be 2 more pieces.  LOL.
 

I've made up one of the pocket welts to see if I liked it made up and I do.  I really don't know what happened to the blue in this photo.  Cameras!  Bah!   The color of the fabric is the photo above.  I'm happy with it and I think it's going to be a nice look.

I do have enough fabric to re-cut the piece if I decided against it at a later date.  LOL.

Robe pattern alterations

Well...I noticed my multi-sized pattern says (8-14).  It must have been the only one they had in stock.  Sigh.  I start with a 16.   Sooooo, along with my regular alterations I had to size it up one size from the neck through the waist, then to a 18-20 through the hips.  So to make my life a little easier I did some of the size additions in the middle of the pattern by cutting the center line and making my addition.  I also changed the height of the crossover front pieces.  I lowered them a bit.  When I tissue fit to Ruby, I noticed they crossed right over the boobage.  So I lowered them to cross under the boobage.  LOL.  Here is a picture of the front crossover pieces on Ruby with one of my alterations (the line drawn where to cut to lower the fronts).

Notice I haven't yet addressed the length of the robe.   Below is a picture of the changes actually made to the pattern. 

The cut piece is the piece that allows the robe to go under the boobage.  LOL.  Or so I hope.  I'll be making a test/muslin of the blouse before I actually make the robe so I can do any tweaking that might be necessary.

Robe Embroidery tests

Here is the first of three tests I did on my Ellisimo.  I used a piece of really cheapo flannel I got 60% off at Joann's.  This was mainly to get used to doing applique' again.  It's been awhile.  These were the first colors I choose and I'm not really impressed.  Too blah...

With the second test, I changed a couple of the colors and fabric.  This is the actual flannel the robe will be made from.  I chose a darker blue and a darker green.  I like this one a bit better.  Color choices show up better.  But it doesn't Pop.  So....onto the next.

Here I traded out the the lighter green for a rusty orange.  This rusty orange is reflected in tiny flecks of the same color all over the fabric.  To me, this works really well and I think I'll stop with this color combination.  Oh, almost forgot, I changed the satin stitch color to be just a bit lighter too. 

What do you think?  Pretty good?

I'm making pattern changes now and soon I'll show you the changes and the muslin I'll make up from that crappy purple flannel.  LOL.

Later...

Winter Robe...

Today I'll show you my fabric choices and the pattern I'll be using to create the robe.  This Vogue pattern is an OOP I've had for quite some time.  Just love the look but never got around to making it up.  Well now, its going to morph into a robe pattern.  LOL.  As you can see by my totally unskilled drawing talents, I've tried to sketch out a longer version of the top.  Its going to be either ankle length or mid-calf.  Not sure about that yet.  I've done 2 different views on what I could do with the side fastening area.  One view ties and the other view fastens with 3 loop & button closure.  I'm leaning towards the loop & button.  Mostly because it will be a smooth canvas for a bit of embroidery. 

Next are the fabrics I've chosen for the robe.  The big stack on the bottom is the flannel I found at the Quilt Sampler which is the closest quilting fabric shop to me.  The fabric registers as more green than blue in the picture but, believe me, it has just as much blue.  Funny.  The next piece on top of the flannel is the batik which will make up some of the facings and possibly the cuffs (if I decide to add them).  The last 3 pieces are going to be used in the applique embroidery I've chosen to try out on the fabric.  The designs I'll try out are called Paisley Lace and I got them from OESD.   Well, this is all I have time for today.

Tomorrow I'll have time to start stitching out samples and I'll also start making up a muslin of the robe in some cheap flannel I got FTSWALTH (from the stores we all love to hate).  Btw, one wash and that flannel already pills something awful. 

Idea for a Winter Robe...

Now that my coat is mostly done (button & buttonholes left), I'm starting to think of what I need next in my wardrobe.  I guess I need a new winter robe.  Alan was constantly complaining telling my how much he disliked my current robe.  Kept saying me how "old lady" and shapeless it was.  Hmmm, well it was comfy.  LOL.  It was one of those robes on sale that was made from minky fabric, zipped up the front and just kinda "hung" on me. 

So I've started to really put some thought into it.  I really don't want another robe made of minky or terry cloth for that matter.  I need something that won't show pet hair too much so not too dark a color.  I was thinking about using a nice flannel from the quilting store.  Now you all know I love purple.  So off I went looking for a purple flannel to use as a backdrop for some embroidery.  After visiting 2 of the local shops, did I find purple?  Nooooo, weird don't ya think?   Purple is a winter color too.  Women just love purple.  LOL.  I looked on the internet and not much appealed to me there either.  So I had to change my mind on the color.  Gahhhh!  It's like having your mouth all set for a particular food and then you don't get it.  So...  After wondering around The Quilt Sampler, I finally found a flannel I could live with.  Literally.  Its a blend of denim blue & a sage green on a cream background with flecks of rust.  Pretty.  Cat hair proof.  LOL.  I also found a batik with the exact same range of colors in it I can use for facings, etc. on the inside of the robe and possibly as cuffs for the sleeves.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the fabric and the pattern I'll be using to start my robe.  As usual, it will require modifications.

Lata!

B5364 - OOP Lifestyle Wardrobe Continued

Well!  It's been a totally busy week.  I had my first classes with Claire Kennedy in OKC in learning tailoring to make a winter coat.  I'll have a blog about it soon.

I've completed the sleeveless jacket and almost finished with the pullover top to wear under it.  Here's a few pictures of my progress.

This little clip is the inside of the jacket.  I decided to add a fake facing on the back as a design element.  I embroidered my label (Belinda E) on it and then serged the edge of the facing.  Before sewing the front to the back I sewed down the facing, using the serged stitching as a guide.  I used a matching batik for the facing and the bias binding on the armholes.  I didn't use the polished cotton to bind the armholes because it would have been way too heavy. 

I had to add embroidery.  I just thought it needed that certain something.  And if you've been following for awhile, you know I love tone on tone so here it is.  LOL.  I used the border hoop on my Ellisimo to do the embroidery.  I think it turned out pretty nice.

And here's a picture of the completed sleeveless jacket and the not-quite completed top.  The top still needs to have a hem.  I was putting them together here to figure out how much to cut off.  They want you to put in a 1 1/2 inch hem and that's just dumb.  I'm going to put in a baby hem instead.

Remember you can click on the picture for a larger version to see details.

Both the jacket and the top are quite loose fitting.  I did a tissue-fit of both pieces and I probably could have cut a size smaller.  But because of that, I can see myself wearing this jacket over a long sleeved sweater this fall/winter.   So that's a good thing.  LOL. 

Here's some of the tissue fitting I did on the top.   If you click on the picture, it will blow up and you'll see how I used a blue marker to draw my cutting lines.  I used a size 16 (the smallest on this pattern) at the neck and armhole moving out to an 18 at the sides.

As you can see, there's plenty of room in this loose top.  I was worried about getting it over my head so I left the size as it was. 

I snapped this pretty quick and didn't take into account the crappy lighting I have here in the afternoon.  So it looks yellow.  It's really white.  LOL.   This is before I got the bias binding on the neck and armholes too.  Again, the pattern supplied facings and I just really don't like them.  To me, a garment like this just looks more polished when it has bias bindings applied.  I did do french seams on the side seams too.  I'll try to remember to take a picture of the top in the morning in better light.

I hope to finish the top's hem and make the matching pants tomorrow.   If I can get hubby to cooperate, I'll even model the outfit and you'll have to tell me what you think.  I like it so far but it has turned out just a bit dressier than I thought it would.  My lifestyle is pretty casual so this just may mean I'll have a nice outfit for dinner out.

Oh and I did want to say thank you to you gals for the well wishes for Matthew.  We still haven't heard anything about a firm date for his return home.  Hopefully it will be soon.

Embroidery done!

Ha!  I finally have the embroidery done on each of the pieces of the vest.  I think it looks pretty nice so far.  My next move is to sew sequins on each piece.  Here's a picture I took of all the embroidered pieces laid out.

More later!