Oh My Gosh!

I made a shirt... like an actual shirt... one that can be (and was) worn in public... and I wasn't laughed at for wearing it and it didn't fall apart!  I call that a (major)  Sewing Success!

This is from a Simplicity pattern (1614) and I made version D.

The navy piping on the front is 1/2 single fold bias tape, not sure I would use it again- boy that is narrow!  It looks good on the tank, but it was a pain to sew on.  Of course, I didn't sew it on the "right" way and instead chose to sandwich the fabric between the bias tape and sew/top stitch all at once, so that could have something to do with it being a pain to sew.  I was trying to catch fabric in the tape but I couldn't see the fabric because it was in the tape- so on the front neckline I did have some spots that didn't get caught and I had to undo it and sew it again.  I did get the entire back caught on the first try though. 

 

I don't really know why they had me do the bias the way they did on the back, it is behind the straps which seems weird.  Then again, I'm not sure how else you would attach the straps to the bottom piece without the stitching showing if you did the straps after the bias tape. 

The shoulder seams are definitely not done the way the pattern said.  I could not for the life of me figure out what they wanted me to do and my front straps were wider than my back neck piece anyway, so I kind of fudged it.  It works, but that part does look ever-so-slightly homemade (and not in a good way), but I think I am the only one who notices. 

I'm pretty excited to have made my first piece of real clothing (as opposed to the poodle skirt I made for a costume party a few months back).  This is something I will actually wear again!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday over at CrazyMomQuilts.

WIP Wednesday

My newest WIP/Challenge-

Yes, that would be a shirt!  Ok, so a tank (I didn't want to mess with sleeves on my first attempt at sewing a garment).  I still need to add the bias binding to the shoulder seams and back, sew the shoulder seams and hem, and then serger my seams.

I did opt for a pattern with a fun little back detail.  I couldn't make this completely easy on myself :)  And turning those little straps took way longer than I care to admit. 

I learned quite a lot about (garment) patterns this week.

#1. The back of the pattern lists all of the sizes.... the front tells you want sizes are actually in the pattern you are buying.  Not to name names, but someone might not have realized that and bought a size 12-18 pattern...and is a pattern size 4. 

#2. Muslins are a really good idea!  I am usually one for avoid extra work and contemplated skipping this step and just diving right in, but since I was working with a limited amount of fabric (and bought a 10 yard bolt of muslin at Joanns for $17) I decided to do a muslin first.  So glad I did!  Apparently I can't measure myself worth a darn and thought I was a size 8... turns out I am a 4.  I thought an 8 seemed awfully big, but you always hear about patterns running small (I am an X Small/0 when I buy tops), so I just figured they run really small.  Apparently not quite that small.

#3. You cannot mix the front of one shirt with the back of another, even if they are in the same pattern package... at least not in this case.  Those four little straps were not what I was planning on, there was another back on another top that was a back V neck with a strap across the top of the V.  But I wanted this front because it was all in one piece and I didn't want to cut up my chevrons.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday and Fabric Tuesday (shhh.. don't mention I am a day late on that one :)

I'm a Cheeseball :)

The skirt for the work costume party just proves one thing- I'm a total cheeseball.  Company color- royal blue.  My choice of felt- royal blue.  Company mascot- cheetah.  The accent on my skirt, not a poodle but- a cheetah.  Everyone keeps telling me that people go all out for this party, so I'm thinking I should earn some brownie points for the fiancee with this blatant show of company spirit. 

So how was making a poodle skirt without a pattern you ask?  It actually didn't go to bad.  Yes, it took longer than it would have if I had had a pattern but it turned out fine.  I even managed to install my first zipper in a garment with only one phone call home to mom.  She had a handy little trick though- scotch tape!

You sew a basting stitch for your seam, then press it open and lay the zipper down the seam.  Then use scotch tape to keep the zipper in place while you sew.  Works great but a word of advice, remember to take the tape off before trying to use the zipper.  Not that I would know from first hand experience of course.  And the good news is I am an expert zipper installer now, thanks to the four times I altered the size of the skirt and had to take the zipper out, trim the skirt, and reinstall the zipper.