Modestly layer (lace!) and PJ pattern adjustments

As I mentioned in my previous post, the cowlneck top I made dipped a little too low.  I decided to sew in a permanent "modesty layer" so I don't have to wear a camisole under the top.

I went to Jo-Ann's and got 1/2 yd of two types of lace: eyelet lace on a band of some gathered white cloth (mildly ruffled), and heavier lace with a rose design.  When I got home, I undid the gathers, flattened by pressing, and sewed the two together to get a more opaque look.   Then I trimmed the lace to fit inside the cowlneck top and sewed it in.

How it looks from the front.

 Unfortunately I had miscalculated a little and lace was not wide enough to extend as low as I needed it to go, so I zig-zagged two pieces together.  Luckily you can't really tell from the outside, but you can see it from the inside:

I also started working on a flannel PJ set.  Looking over the pattern pieces (Simplicity 2317) I realized I needed to shorten the shoulders quite a bit.  It was harder than I originally thought it was going to be, because I had to adjust all the pieces that would be affected (it ended up being most of the pieces!) while keeping in mind how they are going to fit together.  Due to the shortening the front facing piece (#19) lost the angled part that will become the lapel of the collar, so I had to reconstruct that part.  I tried my best...we'll see if my pattern adjustments will work when I get to the sewing phase!

Cowlneck T-shirt

Today I finished sewing a cowlneck t-shirt in navy blue stretchy knit fabric.  I used Vogue pattern V8634.  I originally cut out the pattern in S size, but thanks to my previous experience with the grey tank top I realized by comparing the pattern pieces that I needed to size down to XS.  I reduced all of the pattern piece sizes to XS, with the exception of the hip measurement, which I kept at S, since my hip measurement is 34 and 1/2 inches.  Once you have a pattern in your size (which you have adjusted as necessary, I would recommend that you always compare new patterns to this trusty pattern-- I saved a lot of time doing this!)

The flash makes this look very bright, but it is a dull navy blue color.

A close-up of the cowlneck.  You can see some of the topstitching.

The project took much less time thanks to some time-saving devices.  I invested in a rotary cutter (OLFA 45mm) and it reduced my prep time by at least half!  Be sure to get the mat if you want to use a rotary cutter.  It's pricey but in my opinion 100% worth it.  The rotary cutter was even more versatile than I thought it would be-- I was able to cut free form (without a guiding straight-edge), and it handled curves without any problems.

I also highly recommend pressing with a tailor's ham and sleeve roll.  These simple rounded objects really helped me achieve a cleaner look and allowed me to get into the hard-to-reach areas (such as seams under the arm and curved seams).

I used the same settings on my sewing machine and serger as I did for my previous stretchy knit fabric project (the grey tank top and shorts set) and didn't have any problems.

3/4 angle view.

The neckline dips quite low so I would recommend a camisole underneath.

One thing that wasn't obvious from the pattern package was that the design results in a low neckline.  I felt uncomfortable so I put on a camisole underneath.  I am considering getting some lace from the store and sewing in a permanent layer for modesty.

Simple, clean lines give this shirt a more dressy look.

I can see myself pairing this shirt with a skirt, or maybe some white pants/jeans.

Round crochet coaster

A few days ago I finished crocheting another coaster in the round.  This time I used stitch counters and what a difference it made!  The finished product is below:

This is the right-side up view.

This is the wrong-side up view.

I think the coaster turned out quite well for my second attempt at crocheting in the round.  (^_^)

Materials:

Patons Classic Wool Natural Mix
Crochet hook size 8

Stich counters if you have them

I followed some very simple steps:

(1) Chain 4 stitches, and join with a slip stitch to form the center loop.  Then chain 1-- this counts as the first SC (single crochet)-- mark this with a stitch counter if one is available, and do 7 SC (single crochet) through the center loop, for a total of 8 SC (counting the first chained stitch).  Join the last of the SC to the first chain with a slip stitch (the stitch counter comes in handy for letting you know which stitch to join to).

(2) Round two: chain one-- mark with a stitch counter, then SC twice in each of the stitches for a total of 16.

(3) On each round increase by 8 stitches in regular intervals.  (For example on round three SC twice in every other stitch, and on round four SC twice every third stitch.  This will lead to an increase of 8 stitches per round.)

(4) After finishing the 6th round, turn once you chain 1 to reach the 7th round.  This means that you will crochet back around on the part you just finished, instead of proceeding forward in the same direction.  This creates a slight change in texture (you can see it especially clearly in the wrong-side up view as the indentation).

(5) After the 7th round, chain two, marking the 2nd chain with the stitch counter, turn, and finish the coaster with a DC (double crochet) in each stitch.

In other news my husband just purchased a Brother CS6000i sewing machine for me as a belated Christmas present!  I am so excited.  It will arrive this coming Wednesday (only 2 days away).

Yesterday I spent some time cutting out patterns for my next couple of sewing projects.

I think I briefly mentioned in my previous post that I had purchased some patterns.  I have the "Very Easy Vogue" pattern V8634 in Xsm-Sml-Med (a close-fitting pullover top with a cowlneck), meant for two-way stretch knits.  I also picked up Simplicity 2317 Size(s) A 8-18 (multiple patterns in this pack, all variations on sleepwear).  The dress pattern that I picked out before, Vogue Options V8648, seems more challenging so I am putting it on the back burner until I acquire some more experience.

It took awhile to cut out all 22 pieces of the Simplicity pattern, but I did it!

For now I want to focus on just making the simple tank top and shorts PJ set, but eventually I want to make the Tshirt + long sleeve shirt/pants PJ set in flannel too, so I figured I might as well cut out all the pieces.

I made some adjustments to the patterns (cowlneck and PJ set(s)) before cutting them out.  After measuring myself with a measuring tape, I realized that I am relatively thick-waisted (less than 9" of difference between my waist measurement and my hip measurement), but in other measurements I am pretty standard (my numbers: 32-26-34 1/2) so I adjusted the patterns by drawing natural looking lines to the next size up only for my waist area.  Fortunately this was easy to do thanks to modern day multi-size patterns!  I also lengthened the inseam on the pants leg pattern to end up at around 31" once fully made (seam allowance and all that accounted for), and made some simple adjustments to the shorts pattern to make them a tad bit longer (I am too old to be showing off my booty to that extent...).

Today I purchased some simple knit fabric (navy blue for the cowlneck top, and heather gray for the tank top and shorts PJ set), matching thread (Gütermann) and elastic for the waistband of the shorts.

I just finished washing and drying the fabric.  We'll see if it shrank or not in the wash!