Make time to sew, Dahling!!!

I’ve wanted to make a Kantha quilt garment for a while, ever since this beauty came across my pinterest feed:

Jacket version, same designer, Mieko Mintz.  How I love these!!

You can see these and much more at www.artfulhome.com

I’ve been searching far and wide for a pattern to use for the coat, there are many that come close, but none that are exact;  I’m continuing my search.  I did find a pattern for the vest though, yay!

I trolled the internet to study all versions of the vest and based on what I found, set about altering the pattern (I actually made a muslin for this!):

Add a center back seam and increase the lower side seam a bit.  For the pattern, I just tapered from size small at the arm out to large at the hem.

I added patch pockets per the model; I just  cut 2 9” squares and lined them to cut down on fraying.

I added a 1 inch wedge on the outer back collar; my muslin collar didn’t lay like I wanted.

I changed the bottom front to a square opening rather than the rounded opening on the pattern.

The beauty of the $600+ garments online is that they are reversible. You can see in the above photos that the seams are decoratively serged seams with contrasting looper threads.  That helps keep it reversible. This one is not, mainly because that under fabric (faded pink, lavender, and yellow) is not my favorite.  So, I did french seams throughout.  This won’t get worn reversed.

Finished the arm holes with bias tape. 

I wanted the collar edges and hems to be finished as per the model vests, so I separated the quilt layers and turned under 1/4” hems on both the upper and under layers, very much like you would finish a double cloth edge.  This Kantha blanket is actually 3 layers of very thin cotton.

Here you can see I let out the hand quilting and opened the raw edge.  Then I folded them back and hand-stitched the quilting back in place.  Yes, each thread got sewn back in place…time consuming!!

A cautionary bit for those of you thinking about buying “vintage”:  I bought this blanket from amazon, the description accurately says that they’re old and there is little control over what colors you get.  This came in the mail as a twin bed (roughly) blanket.   It was less than $20, so not very expensive.  The fabric is sun damaged and faded, threadbare in many places, and has rips and holes.  You can see the fading and holes in the above pictures.  I suppose that’s the charm of the garments. I’ll have to sew more patches here and there as it gets worn.

With all that said, I do really love this pattern and my finished vest!  Worn with black tights and a black shirt, similar to the model in the first shot, it makes for a great “art piece”.

I wore it out recently and felt like Joseph and his technicolor coat!

P.S.  I am now an empty-nester.  Since the departure of my photographer, off to college, I’m readjusting to life in general, but also to getting good pictures of my work. Bear with me, it’s a process!

Hello!! Well, I am a very bad blogger and I have a backlog of stuff to share with you, so I’ll start with a cute top I finished this Summer.

It all started (like it usually does for me) with this beautiful top I saw in a catalogue:

This is a gorgeous georgette top from the Sundance Catalogue, price $128

How easy would this be to make?

I found a blue embroidered chiffon at Atlanta Fine Fabrics and used this easy pattern.  I just used the dress pattern and made it much shorter.

You can get a better idea of the color in this picture.  The fabric is a poly-chiffon with a lace edge, so I used the edge for the hem.

Simple to make, this is a front and back with cut-on sleeves.  French seams finish the sides and I turned up the sleeve hem for cuffs.

Easy peasy, as they say, which is probably why I didn’t write about it. 

More to come, I have alot of catching up to do!

Back in February, I went clothes shopping in a new-to-me store called Doncaster.  It had great well-made clothing that seemed to cater to the ladies-of-a-certain-age crowd.  I tried on pair of beautiful black lace capris that fit like a dream, but at over $400, there was no way I could buy them.  They were pretty though.  I kept thinking, obsessing, even found a picture of them online:

They’re simple, lined black lace capris.  You really could wear these anywhere, dressed up, down, you name it.

I can make that!

I found lace at Fine Fabrics in Atlanta, and I had some lining in my stash.

I started with a simple pants pattern I’ve had in my collection, Vogue 2465.

This is an old wardrobe pattern, the pants pattern had what I wanted, simple darts, no pockets, something I could alter easily.

Boy, do I love them, can I tell you?

Of course, black is so terribly hard to photograh

As for the pattern, it was merely a starting point.  I started with size 14, let out the darts, lowered the waistband, tapered the inside back leg (I do that with most pants patterns, eliminates baggy seats), raised the hem, eliminated the waistband, and I-dont-know-what-all-else.  I used the lining as my muslin, I know it’s a no-no, but there you have it.

Simple side-seam zipper

The brightness is grossly distorted in this picture, but you can see the lace-over-lining.  I’m quite happy with how they turned out!

Okay, so the shoes: another obsession of mine.  I’d been wanting these Prada oxfords for YEARS.  No kidding!  I’m a sucker for shoes with crazy colors.  These finally appeared on ebay, and I snatched ‘em!

Spring is sneaking up on us in Atlanta, I know it’s nothing like what others are dealing with (snow? really?), but today it’s rainy and chilly, here at the end of April.

Bye for now!

I’m Still searching for the perfect fitting jeans, how about you?  I’ve made quite a few pairs of jeans over time, 3 pairs of the wonderful Jalie 2908’s  and a copy from RTW. Well, I’m back at it now, and up for a  sewing challenge.  I’m apparently on a jeans kick, and lately I’ve been liking the boyfriend patchwork look.

from Pinterest.

from Pinterest

Even one of my favorite clothing lines CAbi has a patch-y jean this season:

www.cabionline.com

  I’ve had this pattern in my stash for a while, it appears to now be out of print.

I made up the muslin from some home-dec fabric:

I cut a size 14 and made a few alterations.  I like the loose leg so I left that alone.  The pattern tells you that it sits a good 2 1/2 inches below the natural waist, which was way too low for my comfort; I raised the rise an inch on both the front and back pieces.

I redrew the back upper leg using the size 12 line.  It brings in a bit of the baggy seat. 

To avoid the head-slapping moment that I had, don’t forget to change your fly and fly facing pattern pieces as well (in this case, I added an inch to those pieces).

I took in the center back seam at the top about 1/4 inch, which meant I cut a size 12 back yoke.  I also cut a 1/2 inch wedge out of the yoke horizontally, tapering to nothing at the side seam.  Now, I know what you’re thinking:  those back seams look weird.  Yes, I made this pair of pants from old cut-up jeans and other denims from my stash.

I’m clearly out of practice on my topstitching, and I topstitched the crotch seam on the wrong side.  Bias binding on the fly is a nice touch.

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Despite all the stitching flaws, these are some of the most comfortable pants I’ve made in quite some time.  With more washing and wearing, these will get broken in nicely.  While I was making these, I was watching the Jeans class by Angela Wolfe on Craftsy.  It’s a great class and I highly recommend it!  It’s got great tips that I used for this pair, like using sand paper to distress denim, hammering bulky seams flat for easier stitching, and cool topstitching tips for the back pockets.  There is a wealth of information.  If you want to improve your jeans-making, go buy this class!  For my next pair, I’ll be using this pattern and some heavyweight all cotton denim.  Happy sewing!

It’s a rare thing when I use a pattern more than once, but I’ve made this pattern up 3 times now!

2001

2007

It’s long out of print, but the lines are very classic.  One day I’ll make that beautiful sheath dress!

Interesting how different the jacket turned out when using a knit!  Behold the slouchy-ness!

I made no changes in the fit, but I left off the bottom band.  I added the hand-stitched binding to sleeves and hem. I think I’ll add a snap or other clasp (hand stitched, natch).

Hand topstitching completes the Alabama Chanin inspired top.

Slouchy, comfy knit, classic wardrobe-building!

#alabamachanin, #schoolofmaking.

I’m not stopping with the hand-stitching.  I had a bit of the leftover stenciled blue knit so I layered it with an orange knit from my stash:

You can see the in-progress stencil work layered over plain orange knit.  A simple running stitch outlines the shapes done with 2 strands of orange dmc embroidery floss.  It’s going to be a large scarf/shawl.

Happy Handwork!!