Inspiration...Coat

While looking at coats, I found this lovely one:

This is such a simple design and the fabric really does make it.  This is the Tindra Single-Breasted Degrade Animal-Print Wool-Blend Coat by Elie Tahari.  Price Tag: $798.00.  It can be found on the Neiman Marcus website.

I'm not sure we can find this type of lovely fabric in the home market.  However, the color is really nice and I bet we could locate a similar color fabric. When I saw this coat, I immediately thought of the pattern:

This is the Dakota Duster pattern by Serendipity Studio.  Yeah, there are differences but the basic shape is there.  We can add our own patch pockets and concealed buttons, right? 

Happy Stitching!

A Little Sewing, A Little Knitting, and A Little Gardening....

What can I say?  It has been a busy week. The weather finally calmed down a little and we're seeing temps in the 70sF.  Perfect!

A little sewing?  The Diane Kimono dress is finished.  Here's it is:

The dress is mostly finished.  According to the instructions it is finished but I may be doing some extra work on the neckline.  It is pulling open more than I would like.  I'm either going to add a snap at the "V" or going to stitch it completely closed.  What do you think?

My thoughts on this dress is that I like it.  It is really a nice casual look.  I used a quilting weight broadcloth on this dress and I will think that it would do better in a much lighter weight fabric but when you add the lining which you will need, it might not make a difference.  I chose the fuller skirt option and the smallest hem option which ended up being about 2" wide when finished.   I also chose to make it one color instead of multiples.  That is simply because I didn't have a coordinating fabric for this floral which I love.  DH said that he liked the dress but it made me look rounder than I am.  I wanted to say that I am round.  I think that the drawstring being under the bust is what he is talking about.

Changes:

1. I made a sloped shoulder alteration.

Things I will do differently, if I made this dress again:

1. Go down a size and figure out how to do a full bust adjustment.

A little knitting?  I started the swatch for my next sweater.  I'm taking a Craftsy class on top-down knitting.  I finished my first swatch and it was so cute.  Then, I watch the segment of the class where she discusses making your swatch.  Oops!  She was asking for it to be done in the round and I had done a flat swatch.  So, I ripped it out and started again with my double-pointed needles in the round.  I'm still working on that.

A little gardening?  The flowers continue to look beautiful.  Not all of them bloomed but the ones that did are really nice.  Here's a couple of bouquets:

The vegetable garden has been producing a lot of lettuce and spinach.  The asparagus is all finished. We just pulled out the spinach bed to start something else.  I have been making Chive Vinegar.  I love to see the beautiful color of this:

The one on the right has aged about a week.  The other two were just put in the jars.  Isn't the color pretty?

We found this little fellow in the flower garden:

Cute as it may be, it is not a welcome addition to the garden.  Obviously, not very old.  It didn't move or twitch when we walked up to it.  Here's a picture a couple of hours later:

It walked within a couple of feet of my husband.  Really checking him out.  I'm hoping that it doesn't get to use to us.  I run them off when they get a little older but I have a little pity for the babies when they can barely walk.

Happy Stitching!

Third Muslin of the Diane Kimono Dress

Here's the third muslin of the dress pattern:

I think this version looks a little better.  Not as tight through the bust area.  The only thing I'm uncertain about is the gathered area in the front.  I really do not like that and may just spread the gathers out a little more.  I suppose I could pin it in and see what I think in the fabric that I have picked out for the dress.

Overall, this seems to be a very quick dress to make.  I am very slow at sewing.  I will try to time how long it takes from cutting to finishing and let me you know.

Happy Sewing!

2nd Muslin of the Diane Kimono dress

I have finally gotten back to the Diane Kimono dress pattern.  The second muslin is the largest size available.  It is sewn according to the directions except I was playing around with how the skirt attached to the band:

Here's the same top with the shoulders pinned for sloping shoulders:

I think that the second version has a little bit better fit.  With that in mind, I retraced the the front and back bodice changing the slope about 1/2".  Here is the change to the bodice:

I used the pivot and slide technique to modify the bodice.  You can see in the picture above how much the change affected the sleeve.

There is still some of the loving pink fabric left to produce another muslin. So, it's off to make one more muslin.  I get a little tired of the patterns by this point.  I hope that third time is the charm and I can make the dress.  What do you think of the differences in the second muslin?

Happy Stitching!

First Muslin of the Diane Kimono Dress pattern

The first muslin of the Dianne Kimono Dress pattern has been completed.  I made the muslin using the tiered length on the skirt.  So, here it is:

I used a light weight cotton in a very pale yellow and did the stitching in black.  I cut out and followed the pattern directions exactly except I didn't do any facings or drawstrings.  When I saw this picture, I knew that when I tried on the pattern pattern that there was no way it had reached the center back.  It's hard trying to fit yourself.  Obviously, this is too tight.

So, it was off to trace the next size up.  The second muslin should be ready soon.  I hope it is a winner.  As this is a super easy item to stitch together.  I doubt that the stitching took me 30 minutes and that includes the pressing time and pinning the neckline so I could see how open it was.  I'm a very slow at sewing but I will try to note how long it takes me to make the dress.

I did play with the shoulder seams a little bit knowing that I have sloping shoulders but it's really tough to know how much to take out with the style.  Here's a picture with the should seams pinned up a bit:

It could be that there isn't as much wrinkling in the armholes area. How do you know when you have over fit this particular style?  Having those wrinkles are part of the styling otherwise you would have an armhole.  I think I need to remember that this is suppose to be a lose style.

Happy Stitching!

Project Update…

The weekend started rough with us discovering that our water heater was blown.  So half the day on Saturday was spent with plumbers working on the replacement and the remainder of the day spent getting caught up on the laundry. 

Let’s start with the Shelia Jacket.  There was a minor problem  with the Shelia jacket pattern 

 (there were 2 “D” fronts in my size) but Peggy got back with me fairly quickly letting me know how to determine which pattern piece was the correct one.  I have now finished tracing the jacket, checked that the pattern pieces match to one another, and that the basic width will fit.  I did add a couple of inches at the hip using the pivot and slide method.  Here’s the fabric that I wanting to use for the jacket:

There will be a webcast tonight on this jacket pattern.  I’m looking forward to it.  Hope I do not forget about it. 

Next, I traced the Diane Kimono dress.  I pin fit the pattern pieces and was pleasantly surprised that it appeared to fit.  I need to look around for some fabric to make a muslin of the bodice to double-check the fit.  I really think the width is good but I may need to add a little bit of length. Here’s the fabric that I’m considering for the dress:

  

As for the shoe saga, of the three pair I ordered only one pair worked out.  I now have a new pair of low heeled black dress shoes.  The other two pair have been returned but I keep looking.  New shoes arrive on a daily basis at Zappos.  I’m sure I’ll find something else soon.

Happy Stitching!

Next projects...

Even though there is still snow about, I'm determined to start some spring/summer items.  It would be nice to have stuff ready for when the weather warms up or if I should head south.  So, here's the first two projects that I've picked:

First is the Shelia's Jacket pattern from Silhouette Patterns.  I had never looked closely at this pattern before until one of webcast at the beginning of the year.  I will definitely do a muslin of this pattern before cutting my fabric which is a denim type fabric with a floral design right out of the stash.  This will be a great casual jacket for spring or for the air conditioning.

Second is the Diane Kimono Dress pattern from Serendipity Studio.  I fell in love with this pattern the first time I saw it and got it immediately.  It should be a quick and easy dress to make.  I will do a muslin of this to check the fit of the bodice just in case an FBA is required.  Doesn't this look like a nice summer dress?  Unfortunately, I do not have stash fabric for this but I do have fabric picked out at work.  If you're interested in this pattern, please hop over to the Pattern Loft to purchase.

Have you made either of these patterns?  What were your results?

Happy Stitching!