Sunday, November 30, 2014

Skirts, a top and a cardigan - oh my!

Just a quick after-Thanksgiving post to share some photos of the outfits I made during my sewing retreat. I hope to get some shots in a few days of the garments on Dr. Erin - I think they'll look so much better on her than they do on Gwendolyn, but these will have to do for now.


First up: a cardigan and pencil skirt.



I used a remnant of a wonderful poly/spandex heavy knit from St. John called Natale (long ago sold out) - I had my eye on this print from the time it first arrived at Sawyer Brook, but waited so long that all I had to work with was a 3/4 yard cut and a lengthwise strip that was about 10 inches wide. I adjusted the pattern lengthwise (Pamela's Patterns, the cardigan from her Twin Set) so it would fit on my 27 inches, but there was no way the sleeves were going to fit. By adding a seam from shoulder point to wrist, I was able to cut them in two pieces from the strip I had. I can't believe how great this worked - the stripes of the pattern make it look seamless!


There is seam in there, I promise!

Sleeve hem edge rolled back to show the seam down the top of the sleeve. I used my machine blindhem stitch on this fabric - it just disappeared into the knit, where topstitching would have looked horrible.

The dark brown skirt is made from Metropolitan rayon ponte knit, and with its elastic waist, (Pamela's Patterns Magic Pencil Skirt) I think it will provide a comfortable fit for the busy doctor. I did choose the non-topstitched method to apply the elastic, just stitched in the ditch at all the seams and darts, it gives the waist a smoother look, more suitable for a young professional. I also added a center back seam to accommodate a vent, just to give her a little room to maneuver in and out of a car more easily.

A print 3/4 sleeve top made from Wenona cotton jersey should be easy to care for and comfortable. This cowl-neck Renfrew top (Sewaholic Patterns) is going to do double duty - I made two skirts to go with it.  Here it is with a longer skirt made with McCall's 5523, view A. The fabric is Cabernet rayon ponte (now sold out, sorry).





The color is pretty washed out in this photo, it's a really deep wine. Love that back flounce!

I checked the curve of the back facing on the waist against the jeans yoke pattern I made for Erin last year, so it should hug the curve of her lower back nicely. I love it when an invisible zipper tab is such a perfect match!


Last, here is the print top with another pencil skirt, this time in Roasted Red ponte (also from Sawyer Brook, of course.) I made it the same as the dark brown one, with the center vent.


So, I spent two days of my retreat weekend sewing these outfits (all cutting out was done at home before I left). I traded almost a week of my pay for Sawyer Brook fabrics and notions - worth every penny!

2 comments:

  1. Lovely pieces. Clever work on that jacket--how you worked that 3/4 yard of fabric is amazing.

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    1. Thank you, Robin! Sometimes I think I specialize in getting garments out of tiny remnants of fabric. I have a jeans jacket I made out of two little pieces - I'll have to post photos of that sometime.
      Thanks for visiting & commenting!

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