Weekend Inspiration
I’ve been bit by the jacket bug so in addition to last week’s Weekend Inspiration and my lust for the December Burda jackets, here are a few more patterns I think we should all consider. I feel like I should make use of all of this jacket pattern hunting and start a challenge (especially if I find myself drowning in purchased patterns!) Maybe a jacket per month kind of thing? Would anyone join me? Well, while the wheels are turning, here are a few more I think are pretty:
Burdastyle 3/2011 Peplum Jacket #120 – I think this jacket would help with my need for waist definition. A different fabric, especially color, would be a must.
Just a side note, Burda’s line drawings don’t do a lot of these jackets justice; it makes me wonder if that’s why some of these patterns have so little to no reviews on Burda’s site.
Burdastyle 3/2011 Blouson Jacket #128 – A perfect example of Burda’s line drawings not doing a garment justice. I had no idea it was a cropped jacket. Very cute on the model, not so cute in the line drawing or on the mannequin.
Burdastyle 1/2011 Jacket with Invisible Snaps #106 – I love this jacket. I love the fabric. I love the red. That is all.
Recent Purchases
On Sunday, I stopped by Joann’s to take advantage of their Simplicity pattern sale and the 25% off Friends and Family coupon. I actually had at least 10 patterns picked out but I think it was the night before that I flipped through the Burda previews and decided on subscribing. That made me lose a lot of interest in most of the patterns. I ended up with four patterns, and fabric for one of them. I spent entirely too long trying to find a photo of the fabric on Joann’s website so I’ll just wait to show it when the dress is done.
I know this dress is very summery but I bought it to make the jacket now and the dress later. I visit my parents in Florida for the holidays so if I get around to it, I actually wouldn’t mind making the dress for that trip.
I have View A with the wrap waiting to be cut out of the new fabric. I’m making it without sleeves so I can also bring this to Florida or throw a jacket or cardigan over it for work.
I passed over this pattern multiple times until I saw it used on one of Sew Weekly’s Make This Look posts. I think Simplicity’s photo stylings make this dress look very girly, too girly for me at least. I had a dark purple cotton fabric in my cart that I think would help avoid that but I put it back at the last minute. I already have a bit of a stash accumulated from my Fabric Mart purchase and I just can’t stand to have that much fabric sitting unused. I think I must be one of the few people that sew that also can’t maintain a stash. That might be a topic for another day.
I read through a lot of Gertie’s Lady Grey Sew Along and got inspired to make my own winter coat. There are a lot of things I’d like to make first before I consume my time with such a project, but I bought this pattern because I like the style and to have instructions to read through. For a dollar, I figured it couldn’t hurt…although the fact that it’s a Project Runway pattern doesn’t make it the easiest instructions to read through.
December Burda Preview
For a while, I think Burda’s magazine was getting a lot of negative reviews. I was just starting to sew so I wasn’t even interested in committing to a magazine subscription. Once I realized I wasn’t going to quit sewing anytime soon, I still didn’t consider getting a subscription because of those reviews. However, PR message boards have been bringing the past couple months’ previews to my attention and I’ve actually liked a ton of the patterns! It’s possible the past couple issues have improved, or maybe I just have completely different taste than those commenting on the message boards. (If the latter is true, then I’m in the minority and maybe should start worrying about my style??) Well, I decided to ask for a subscription for Christmas, just 6 months to start. Even if I bought it for myself, I think the numbers make sense. In the US, it’s $48 for a 6 month subscription that contains 30-40 patterns per issue (if I remember correctly). If you buy the patterns off of the website, they’re about $5.40 each. So if you only make two patterns per issue, you’re ahead! Considering how many patterns I like in the November and December issues alone, I’d be getting more than my money’s worth. Here are some of my favorites (I can’t tell you how hard it was not to include every single photo:
Seriously, that was me restraining myself. I want every.single.pattern. And did you see all of those jackets?!?!?! I’m beyond excited. Also, I love her hair.
Weekend Inspiration
It’s Friday! The temperature is dropping and nothing sounds better this weekend than putting on some comfortable clothes, having a mug of hot chocolate and relaxing.
For this Weekend Inspiration, I perused Pinterest and stumbled upon the picture below which I think perfectly sums up one of my favorite casual outfits. A tee shirt and jeans is a definite go-to for me, but lately, I’ve been striving to look a bit more put together, and dare I say stylish? I love how throwing a jacket on top and adding a statement necklace dresses up the white tee and jeans combo.
And some of my (current) favorite jacket patterns:
Burdastyle 09/2011 Asymmetrical Jacket #126 – Minus the extra long bell sleeve openings, I love this jacket.
McCall’s 6172 – From the photo, this jacket doesn’t seem to be of the style that works for me, (I need some waist definition to avoid looking like a teenage boy) so I’ve passed it over multiple times on my hunt for the perfect jacket pattern. However, after seeing this version, with the right fabric, I think it could be a great casual jacket.
Vogue 8714 – I like how this jacket can look like two completely different jackets depending on whether it is buttoned. However, I think the right fabric is more important than usual with this one.
Burdastyle 07/2011 Sweatshirt Jacket #119A – I want to make this one ASAP. What could be a better addition to a casual outfit than a jacket made out of sweatshirt fabric?
Weekend Inspiration
I’ve mentioned Sew Weekly before and their Make This Look section, and I’ll probably mention in a hundred times in the future so it seems appropriate to pull inspiration from their website. I look forward to each new Make This Look entry and I can’t wait to actually make one of them. Also, it saves me the trouble of finding patterns to match with inspiration pieces!
This is probably my favorite right now. No clue where I would wear it but I think it’s so pretty. I have no experience with edging lace, overlays or working with a predetermined hem (such as border prints or scalloped lace) so I’d be able to tick off new skills if I made it.
My closet could definitely use a fun, printed blazer. I have this pattern already and actually used a different view from it to make my Think Pink contest entry, but I don’t know if I’m interested in making the view they use here. Although, I do like the idea of not contributing to my crazy pattern stash. What is probably deterring me from this view is the fabric its made out of on the pattern envelope.
I love this dress. Usually flowy skirts can look too girlie and sweet on me, so I don’t know how the combination of a flowy skirt in a flowery print would look. It’s still one of my favorite MTLs so far.
PR Think Pink Contest Entry – Waterfall Jacket
Pattern Description: Misses’ faux fur, fitted & loose cut jackets sewing pattern.
Pattern Sizing:6, 8, 10, 12, 14 – I sewed View B in a 10.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes, pretty much identical except mine is pink instead of red.
Were the instructions easy to follow?I thought they were fine. For a beginner, if you follow the instructions, you’ll end up with a jacket. However, it may have just been my own error, but I wasn’t crazy about how the neckline was attached.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like that the same pattern envelope contains four completely different styles of jackets, potentially more if you vary your fabrics. The jacket also turned out exactly how I imagined it.
Like I noted earlier I wasn’t crazy about how the neckline is attached. Also, a previous reviewer noted that the jacket doesn’t drape on its own as shown on the pattern envelope. I think this will depend on the fabric you use. I used a faux microsuede and it has a tendency to lose the middle fold. I wore it for the first time today and after a while, it started to “learn” the folds I preferred.
This didn’t bother me too much but I thought it was worth noting for anyone planning on sewing this jacket in the future, and I’ve read this complaint about other Simplicity patterns. The sleeve cap has a bit of ease that isn’t easily visible from the pattern envelope. After careful inspection while writing this review, I can see it…barely. But when I bought the pattern, I didn’t and I was surprised. Again, it doesn’t bother me and I think it actually looks a kind of pretty in the pink, but I thought other sewers should know.
Fabric Used: A pink faux microsuede from Hancock’s.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: No alterations.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I probably won’t sew it again because it’s distinctive and I think I’m ready to move on to trying lined jackets. I’m contemplating sewing View A. I would recommend it, though.
Conclusion: I think this is a great pattern for beginners. Especially if you’d like to add a jacket to your wardrobe but are too intimidated by other patterns.
The Mustard Dress
Psych! I totally had you thinking I not only finished the dress but reviewed it, didn’t I? Also, remember when people used to say “psych!” all the time? Yeah, let’s not bring it back.
Anyways, I titled this post The Mustard Dress because an email from Anthropologie lured me to their site where I saw this dress:
I feel validated now in making my mustard dress…which you’ll see if I ever really do finish and review it.
Radio Silence, continued
I still don’t have any finished projects to show, but I have made some progress.
The mustard dress, Vogue 8511, is still waiting on its hem. Let’s not talk about it.
I stopped working on the red gabardine pencil skirt, Vogue 8363. I couldn’t take it anymore. The fabric shifted constantly, snagged the very first time I sewed it, unraveled like crazy and the loose fibers stuck to everything in sight. I don’t remember how much it was, maybe $4 or 5? Not worth it.
I knew I wanted to make multiple pencil skirts from that pattern to fill a gap in my wardrobe, so while at the fabric store picking up fabric for more versions, I decided to just start over with a new, less frustrating red fabric. In addition to the red, I picked up an army green fabric and a grey with white pinstripes fabric. The red skirt is so close to being done, the fit is almost spot on, however the thread and zipper I bought for the original skirt is too bright for this fabric. I’ll have to pick up new ones tonight so I can finally finish something up.
After I realized the zipper wouldn’t work with the skirt, I put it aside and picked up the Sorbetto instead. In my rushed tiredness, I sewed a right side to a wrong side. At that point, I decided to call it a night.
I’m hoping to finish up the red skirt and the Sorbetto tonight because in the meantime, I’ve been creating quite the list of “to sew” projects. Maybe later today I’ll add a list to the side of the blog so it’s easier to access than an old blog posting like the Tim Gunn list. For now, here is one thing I had in mind:
Burdastyle's Heidi Dress
Some of the versions I saw were really cute, but there are numerous reviews about the fit being much too big. I think if I can nail the fit on a muslin, I’d make multiple versions of this dress as well. I already found some fabric I’d love to use for them:
Alexander Henry Fashionista Bone Bling Fabric
Alexander Henry Fashionista Guilded Ikat Fabric
Kaffee Fassett Woven Haze Stripes Cobalt Fabric
Radio Silence
I haven’t blogged in a while mainly because there isn’t much to blog about. Here’s why:
- I finished the mustard dress, Vogue 8511, except for the hem.
- While I was letting it hang over night, I decided to start Vogue 8363.
- I put the skirt on hold because the fabric I bought for it (red poly blend gabardine) has turned out to be one of the most frustrating fabrics to work with.
- In order to keep from throwing my sewing machine out the window, I decided to do something super simple. I started refashioning an old men’s button down into the Colette Sorbetto.
- And then…I got sick.
So three projects started, zero complete. Ugh.
Weekend Inspiration
I get a ridiculous amount of emails every day from retailers advertising their newest items and in store and online sales. This isn’t the best idea for someone who has a shopping problem so I should probably unsubscribe, but lately I’ve actually been taking away some great inspiration for sewing instead. I’m not really to the point yet where I can alter patterns to really closely match the original items so if I do ever make anything, they’ll just be very loose interpretations.
Let’s start with something inspiration for you (because I definitely can’t do it!): Now I have no idea how to even begin recreating this but I had to start with it because I saw it in my inbox and really want it, especially in Navy, but it’s $248 and that’s almost a car payment… Maybe I’ll submit it to the ladies over at Sew Weekly for their Make This Look section! Which if you haven’t visited either sites, you really should. (If it’s hard to tell from the photo, the bottom unbuttons from the top to become a skirt with a wide waistband.)
Anthropologie Crazy Expensive Button Belted Dress
Inspiration I could actually attempt: This dress is on sale at The Outnet this weekend but they only have a size 2 in stock. It looks like it has sold out! But I think if you take almost any shirt dress pattern, add a seam on either side of the buttons, shorten the sleeves and make it in a fun, larger print, you could have a pretty similar dress.
Mikael Aghal Floral Print Dress, Originally $350
Bonus inspiration for a pattern and/or fabric I already own: This paisley skirt from J.Crew almost has me convinced that I should make a pencil skirt out of the pink paisley brocade i just bought from Fabric Mart.
J. Crew Pencil Skirt in Royal Paisley, $128!
I’m not really crazy about any of the pencil skirt patterns I have. I just want a simple pattern with a front piece, back piece and smallish waistband (just like the J.Crew No. 2 Pencil Skirt). Right now I have Simplicity 2475 which has seams down the front and back, Butterick 5566 which doesn’t have a waistband and Simplicity 2343 which either has pleats or angled seams on the front. Who would have thought finding a pencil skirt pattern would have been so difficult?
sea.shell.sew 