McCalls m7969 in linen

Okay, spring can come now, I'm ready!  

This is m7969, which is must be something of a blockbuster hit for McCalls, it is all over Instagram. With sweet sleeve shape and easy, flattering silhouette that seems to look good on everyone, I was smitten and had to give it a try. 

I purchased a paper pattern months ago, but the yellow tissue and newsprint directions were bringing up memories of frustration and disappointment from my youthful attempts at sewing. I also just really dislike working with that fragile, crinkly tissue paper. When Minerva made the PDF available with their newsletter, I finally felt empowered to move ahead.

Of course I made View A (like everyone else!) but I subbed in the skirt from the Closet Core Elodie wrap dress because I don't like gathered skirts. I can't really even say why, but every time I make a dress with a gathered skirt, I wear it once and it sits in my closet until I change it out.

After looking at other blogger's versions, I decided go for sewing to my measurements, which seemed likely to turn out pleasantly oversized. That put me at an M bust and L waist, which are in two different PDFs (or two different pattern envelopes!). I'm ALWAYS right in the middle of size splits, I hate it when companies don't overlap their sizes. So... I printed off the M and just guessed at where the waist would be on the L. 

The one mod that many bloggers have done that I think is very smart is making the front wrap a little more modest. I know if I do this, I'll get lots more wear out of the dress, rather than saving it for some rare (since covid, non-existent!) sexy date night occasion. I extended the front triangle 3.5 inches and drew a straight line to the shoulder, then extended the front bindings (by a totally arbitrary amount, and I just cut off the excess). I also shortened the sleeves by an inch at the shorten/lengthen line. 

The linen print was a birthday purchase from Emmaonesock several years ago. I didn't have quite enough to cut out the quite full skirt of the Elodie, so I pulled out a remnant of navy linen to complete the skirt. 

Of course I added POCKETS-- having pockets in all of my clothing is one of the great advantages of sewing my own clothes. Designers, take heed-- us busy women need options for pockets. Since this pattern didn't include any pockets, I borrowed the divinely deep pockets from the Closet Core Amy jumpsuit and added them at the side seams. 

I started out blindly following the instructions-- but after considering it, I ripped those first seams and went with my own order of construction. With this fine linen I made french seams throughout, starting with the raglan seams and doing the underarm and side seams in one fell swoop. The instructions called for an inordinate amount of basting-- who does that, and why cut the neck binding on the bias, only to interface it on the grain? I didn't bother with the interfacing, I just treated it like any other bias bound neckline. I also didn't hand- slip stitch the bindings as suggested-- I might have if this was a solid or a slick fabric, but with a pattern and toothy linen, stitching in the ditch to secure the binding worked just fine. From taping the PDF to hemming, I had it done in a day. 

It seems that the binding was meant to be shorter than the neckline to have the effect of snugging in the wrap. Since I modified the front for more coverage, I sort of missed this effect, but ended up compensating when baste-fitting the front by pulling down on the bindings until the front laid flat with no gaping. I also sewed the waistline about an inch higher in the front, and added small pleats under the bust on the bodice and on the skirt. 

In terms the quality of the pattern-- I really think McCalls missed an opportunity to impress the sewing community. The PDF was sort of baffling-- wrong pagination, and how exactly were you supposed to put it together? No instructions on this that I could find, I didn't see any scale markings to check my printer scaling-- I eventually decided by trial and error that I was supposed to line up the little diamonds that I could hardly see through opaque printer paper, and I just had to trust that my printer was not scaling inappropriately. The PDF instructions did seem somewhat improved from what I remember of old McCalls patterns, but still not the kind of considered, tested construction that many Indie designers have perfected. 

Fortunately, it is a forgiving pattern in terms of fit and I have lots of experience sewing now so I can compensate for poor instructions, and the dress turned out beautifully. The sleeves are everything I was hoping for-- voluminous and elegant in this lightweight linen. It is just so cute and comfy, and I'm ready for spring as soon as Mother Nature is!

Striped Jumpsuit Inspired by Ace and Jig

So this make I am totally in love with. 

Lately I've been admiring the designer team Ace and Jig, and their gorgeous textiles and easy styles. In particular, this jumpsuit got stuck in my head:

Then, Emmaonesock got in a lovely yarn dye, linen blend stripe. The yarns it is woven from vary slightly in weight, giving it a subtle texture. 

The pattern I used was a mash-up of the Kalle shirt (top) and the Amy Jumpsuit, both by Closet Case Patterns. I made a wide partial placket, cut on the cross-grain to the shoulder, then hugging the neck in the back. I added sleeves from the Kalle shirt long sleeve pattern. 

It was very tight fitting my pattern on my 3 yards. Then I had a total screw up-- I had cut the big pieces on the table at work, then took the scraps home to cut the small pieces on the weekend, and I cut up one of my front pieces thinking that it was a scrap! 

When I realized what I had done, I had to take a long step away to vent my frustration, then I got down to the business of piecing together a new front piece from my VERY meagre scraps. There are about 4 horizontal seams in one of the front pieces. Let's just call this a quirky design element. Interestingly, the stripes (which I very deliberately matched!) actually do a good job of camouflaging the mistake. 

The belt is also pieced from about 8 scraps, and the back of the belt and the facings are done with leftover burgundy linen. I also hemmed both the legs and arms with facings, also due to a lack of fabric, but actually I sort of love the smooth finish and slight structure of a hem done with a facing. 

Without a belt, it looks sort of pajama-y, so it is likely I'll mostly wear it with the belt. I sort of love how the long, wide belt lands just at the hemline, which was a total accident. 

I thought I wanted it longer, but this length is perfect with boots! 

I have a very strong desire to buy more lovely, striped yarn dye fabrics that might or might not be hand-woven. Where oh where should I look?

Rayon Crepe "Zamy" (Zadie + Amy) Wrap jumpsuit

It's wedding season! Of course, nothing in my closet would do.  

The fabric is a rayon crepe that I picked up at Emmaonesock earlier this spring. I don't know whether to call this a border print or a panel, but I was immediately drawn to the layout and colors of the print. When I received it, the hand was even more luscious that I could have imagined... it has the most beautifully drapey, textured matte surface.

The basic pattern is the Zadie jumpsuit (Paper Theory), but highly modified. I've made one Zadie that I have yet to blog, since the fit is quite far from right. The crotch is miles too long, and possibly poorly shaped for my body. But I love the idea of a wrap jumpsuit, and I thought a wrap would be perfect for this print.

Also, to make the best use of this spectacular print, a waist seam was not desirable, and considerable swishy-ness on the legs certainly is desirable. 

Soooo.... I laid the Zadie on top of my beloved Amy jumpsuit pattern (Closet Case Patterns), and proceeded to trace out a hybrid. My love of the Amy jumpsuit is well documented! Let's just call this a Zamy, shall we? 

The hybridization went smashingly... I made a muslin and it was nearly spot on. It is difficult to say exactly where Zadie ends and Amy begins, but I took the wrap shape and pleats from the Zadie and the crotch curves and length mostly from the Amy, and retained all of the volume of the wide legs from the Amy. 

No waist seam. Pleats were retained, sewn to be open on both ends. I drafted facings, rather than use bias on the neckline, for a more elegant finish. Side seam pockets. Frenched seams. The sleeves are finished with self-fabric bias binding that is invisibly hand sewn down.

I also decided to add button closures (tabs sewn into the side seams) so that it can be worn with or without a belt, a technique borrowed from the Highland Wrap Dress (Allie Olson).

I made the belt twice as wide as the original Zadie ties, sewed the two ties together, and interfaced it so that it would lay flat (another thing I didn't like about my first Zadie is how the waist ties wrinkle up) and left it completely unattached. 

The wedding was lovely, the bride and the groom very sweetly exchanged handwritten vows on a perfect summer day. It is always such a beautiful thing to see two young people starting out together in their lives. As for my position as the recent wife of the father of the groom-- let's just say everyone has history. However, if one has to stand around smiling graciously, making small talk and feeling generally awkward, one might as well do so looking glamorous!

Amy Jumpsuit Cross Back Hack

I love my Amy jumpsuits (you can see them here (bw print), here (black linen), and here (navy sequin)) but they all share one problem... the straps just won't stay on my shoulders. 

So on my latest Amy, I made the straps cross in the back.

This was a bit of a trick, I went through several bodice muslins trying different solutions to get the straps to cross with a minimum of gaping in the back. But in the end, I decided the best solution was the simplest. I made the straps longer, and attached them so that they followed he angle of the back bodice coming from the armpit. I also removed about 1 inch from the top of the bodice at the center back, grading to nothing, and adding that inch back in at the side seams (1/2 inch on each side). I did this all on the pattern, so that when I cut the center back stripe would be on-grain. 

I also added the side zip. Since the straps are pretty secure, it is still a bit of a wiggle to get on and off... but not much worse than my other Amys. Next time I'll probably make the back just a bit deeper, or allow the front to sit a touch lower, so that the opening on top is just a bit wider to get on and off. 

I love it! Having bare shoulders without the straps sliding down all the time is wonderful. 

The fabric is yet another linen from Joanne Fabric! This one seems a bit lighter than the other two I've sewn with, but still lovely for summer.

Thaw Jumpsuit-- Patternreview Lillian Dress and Closet Case Amy Mashup

It has been a crazy winter here in the Finger Lakes. Freezing cold days and whiteout snowfall mixed with periods of 50+ degree weather. All of that has led to a lot of freeze thaw cycles. On the edges of the lakes and the canals and inlets, the ice forms then breaks into intricate patterns. 

This jumpsuit was made for Round 3 of the Patternreview Sewing Bee. The challenge was to make a specific pattern, the Lillian dress, your own. 

If you've been reading the blog for awhile, you might have noticed that I haven't made any knit dresses lately, and I pretty much never make anything with a bib, other than overalls. 

So how to make this particular pattern my own? Well, I decided to convert it to a woven, and to make it into a jumpsuit. I stayed true to the pattern by using the style lines of the bib to make a sort of princess seam down the front, and I turned the neckline into a high cross front style. For the ease and shape of the leg, I used the Amy Jumpsuit pattern from Closet Case Patterns. 

Converting to a woven was relatively easy-- I sewed a size two sizes higher than my measurements. I also ended up having to cut and slash some more ease into the sleeves, since they were too restrictive when sewn in a woven. 

The wrap front worked out very well for getting in and out of the jumpsuit... no other closure is necessary. 

The fabric is hand painted, in a pattern that is inspired by the patterns ice makes when it thaws. 

My fabric was a white linen, and I painted it with very watered down speedball printmaking ink. I had this color sitting on a shelf, staring at me-- I had mixed it for a previous project, but ended up using a different color set. The color was mostly dark blue, with a little turquoise mixed in. 

The lines in the pattern are created using clear gutta resist... I had a tube in my stash that I had bought to try out several years ago. It worked beautifully! 

The speedball ink is very pigmented, so even the darker areas maintain a suppleness. I have not yet washed it, but I have high hopes that it won't fade, since getting speedball ink out of clothes where it has landed by accident is nearly impossible. 

I painted the cut pattern pieces before I sewed them, so that I could control exactly how the pattern fell on the jumpsuit, but the style lines created by the panels would still be visible. There was of course the risk of the pattern pieces stretching out of shape while they dried, but I handled them very carefully and this seemed not to be a problem. 

The front of the jumpsuit closes with a hidden zip. This was the part that took the most time... I had to figure out exactly where the facings needed to be so that my non-matching black zip wouldn't peek out. A couple of hook and eyes with thread loops keep the facings in place. 

The inside of the wrap is secured with a button, a trick I learned from the Highland Wrap Dress.

The armholes are finished with matching bias binding. 

The legs are hemmed with a machine blind hem. The insides, including pockets, are french seamed for a clean finish.

And, the finished jumpsuit! It is such a statement piece that I haven't found the right place to wear it yet. But I think soon, as we come to the big spring thaw, this jumpsuit will make its debut. 

You can read my contest entry here, and see the other entries here. 

Favorite and Fails: 2018 Sewing Year in Review at Unlikelynest

2018 Sewing Year in Review at Unlikely

A week into 2019... hopefully not so far in that we can't take a look back at the best and the worst of 2018! Mostly the best ;). 

Most popular makes (based on blog hits and Instagram likes)

Sequin Amy Jumpsuit, Frida Jenny Overalls, Wiksten Kimono in doublecloth linen, Italian Print Amy Jumpsuit

I'm so proud of all of these, and I love wearing them! I haven't made so many show-y pieces since before my kids were born, lately I've been more focused on basics. A special thanks to Heather of Closet Case and Kelli of True Bias for the encouragement with the #sewfrosting challenge. 

I am very honored to have been featured in Closet Case's Sew Frosting Highlights (in the Oonabaloona category!) and in their 2018 Favorite Makes of the Year, Patternreview's Member of the Month (December), and Helen's Closet's Wednesday Weekly.

Most worn

Liesl/Kalle Shirt dress, Black linen Amy Jumpsuit with Wiksten Kimono, Liesl Shirt with Ginger Jeans, Kalle Shirt with Ginger/Sasha Pants.

While I love pulling out the fancy stuff for an occasional pop in my daily wardrobe or a special occasion, most of the time I prefer to allow my style choices to play a quiet background to my busy life. When I was in Rome for 4 months, I wore had about 5 Liesl and Kalle shirts and 3 pairs of Ginger/Sasha pants, and I wore these non-stop. This summer and fall my Kalle shirt dresses have been central. Lately I've been living in my Black Linen Amy Jumpsuit and Jenny Overalls.

Speaking of basics, I've been fairly successful in my RTW fast this year. Bras and socks are allowed in the "fast" rules, and I definitely did buy these. I felt a little bad about purchasing a Patagonia down liner jacket this year, but I decided that it just would not be time and cost-effective to make this item. I'm really glad I purchased it thought... it works great with my trench coats and my wool coats, singificantly increasing the range of temperatures I can wear them in, and it is incredibly warm and light.

Black Linen Jenny Overalls

Most popular sewing posts from the past

Tilton Asymettric Wool Blazer, Hey June Lane Raglan, Ginger Jeans Pocket Inspiration, Personalizing the Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan

Burberry inspired trench

It's interesting looking back to see which posts have become most popular, they often aren't the ones I would have expected. The trench post is very expected-- I imagine many sewists attempt a classic trench at some time in their sewing. It also makes some sense that the Ginger jeans pocket inspiration post is popular... whenever I make a pair of jeans those back pockets are like a black page staring at me. The possibilities are endless! I should make a new post about tees... the Union Street tee by Hey June is actually my current go to. 

Favorite makes from past years

Kalle Shirt Dress, Missoni Cardigan, Wool Coat, Anthracite Cotton Trench

I haven't made any coats this year, but I so very much appreciate the ones I've made in past years. The Anthracite trench was amazing in Rome this year, and lately I've been wearing the long wool coat all the time with my jumpsuits and Kalle dresses. This summer I lived in my original green Kalle dress. For some reason I've loved wearing my zigzag cardigans this year- the earth-tones Missoni cardigan was made way back in 2013.

Sewing fails

I am terrible at blogging my sewing failures! I know I should... it is very helpful for me to read about patterns that didn't work out for other bloggers. But taking photos of failures is just so depressing. So, for now, a list. Also, just to note--just because these patterns didn't work for me, it doesn't mean that they won't work for you!

--Tessuti Robbie Pant-- The Robbie looked great on Karen Templer and so many others. Technically the fit is fine... but that wide waistband hits me at an awkward point, and ends up rolling down under my mom-belly, which means the crotch lands at my knees... not a good look for me. 

--Tessuti Demi Pant--I think that there is a reason that I don't own any elastic waist pants. The crotch-waist area on this pattern was a total disaster for me... I ended up just chopping the whole top part off and adding an elastic waist that sits on the hips. I love the way the fabric is folded at the hem, but I also was testing this in a linen that didn't have sufficient body to really show off the cool architectural design of these pants. So, a fail for me, but you might have better luck!
--Deer and Doe Myosotis--This is such a spectacular fail for me that I'll probably blog it later this year once I get over my disappointment. Such a lovely pattern, made in a lovely fabric... but the style just looks dreadful on me. I thought perhaps I was going to put aside my dislike of gathered skirts on me... but no, not happening.

Sewing for family

Princess and Pilot, Concert outfits, Christmas PJs, Annual Swimwear

The only family sewing I've managed to blog is their Halloween costumes, the Princess and the Pilot. I also made the Cosi Swimsuit, which was very easy and a great fit for my daughter. Unfortunately the Pattern for Pirates swim trunks didn't work out for my son, I don't know what happened there, but the fit was so off that they were unrecoverable, good thing his ones from last year still fit!

The kids got new outfits for their piano concert, including an Oliver and S. Buttoned up Buttoned down shirt for my son and version of the Girl Inspired Princess Dress for my daughter. Everyone (except me!) got home made PJs this year. My daughter requested a nightgown, so I made her the Ellie Inspired Beautiful Dreamer, with significant fit modifications, in a gorgeous flannel by Dear Stella called Foxtail Forest Treetop Party. For the boys I used the free Pattern for Pirates PJ pants, which was spot on for my son but could use some work on fit for my husband.

Patterns

Bunny Lovey

Velveteen Rabbit

It's incredible to see all of your Bunny Loveys and Velveteen Rabbits! I should do another roundup post on these, there are so many beautiful ones out there.

So, I could keep on, but I think I'll leave it at that! It's been a great sewing year.

Happy New Year!

Midnight Blue Sequin Amy Jumpsuit for #sewfrosting

When Heather and Kelli announced their #sewfrosting challenge, the first thing that jumped into my head was a holiday-worthy Amy Jumpsuit. 

The Closet Case Amy Jumpsuit is sort of the perfect simple silhouette to sew try out a wild fabric. In this case... midnight blue sequins. I've never sewn sequins before-- in fact, I've never owned an all-over sequin garment.

I bought this fabric when I was in NYC for other reasons and just happened to find 30 minutes to swing by the Garment District. I can't remember the name of the shop I bought this in, but it was filled with sequin fabrics and very close to Mood.

I did make one tiny modification to the pattern this time around. The straps on my previous versions sit a bit wide on my shoulders and tend to slide down, so I moved the shoulder straps in by 1/4 of an inch in both the front and the back. You can see my previous Amy here, btw.

Apparently, under all those sequins, most sequin fabrics are mesh. Who knew? So instead of sewing the facings, I made a full lining by cutting a second copy of the pattern pieces in navy rayon bemberg.

I cut out the sequin fabric with my rotary cutter. I didn't bother engaging in any sequin heroics like removing them all from the seam allowances-- I just sewed right over them. Neither the sequins nor my machine seemed bothered by this, no broken needles or skipped stitches. Other than their being sequin bits all over my sewing area, no harm done.

Otherwise, I kept things super simple. I skipped the zipper and pockets. I hemmed the lining by machine, and the sequins with hem tape, by hand.

For the straps, I made double rouleau straps from my lining fabric, spaced the width of the wide straps that come with the pattern.

With all of those sequins and the full lining, the jumpsuit feels delightfully swishy. It is a lot of fun to move around in.

However, despite the full lining, the sequins are still sort of scratchy under the arms and even where they press on the lining. I guess one does not wear sequins for the comfort factor!