Archive for Finished Project

| May 30, 2015
16 comments

Jungle Muscle Tee

This top started with the fabric. A silky viscose knit from France with a digital jungle print that I spotted at Stonemountain and Daughter last year. It was a bit pricey at over $20 a yard (yikes!) so I waited and was rewarded when I found it at 50% in January. Bit risky I know. I figured I’d save it for summer sewing though I did cut into it for a pair of Cloth Habit Lady Shorts…

Jungle Muscle Tee

As soon as warm weather hit I started thinking about the jungle knit. And when I saw a scoop neck muscle tee at Madewell I knew what to make. Last summer I made a few muscle tees based on the Plantain pattern. And wore them a ton. But also wondered about a more flattering neckline…

Jungle Muscle Tee

I pulled out the muscle tee pattern and added the scoop neck from the Plantain. Which means I used the Plantain without sleeves, with a slightly raised scoop neck, the waist/hip curve straightened out, and the whole top shortened. I used bands to finish the neck and armscyes.

Jungle Muscle Tee

And a double needle hem. My husband made a short video of this step if you want to check it out:

Perhaps my favorite thing about this top is the pattern placement. I didn’t have a lot of fabric to work with and wanted to hoard all the scraps. So outside of choosing to put the more varied print on the front there wasn’t much room to make choices. But gosh, I’m so pleased with the way it turned out! And now I want more jungle prints. And palm prints. And basically any sort of tropical leafy fabrics…

Jungle Muscle Tee

Linking up with Gray All Day for Sew it Chic in a Week. Go check it out.

Details: Deer & Doe Plantain, sz 38, finished with narrow sleeve bands and almost completely straightened out the original plantain waist/hip curve, brought the neck in ~1/2″ all around, shortened at least 2″

Category: Deer and Doe, Deer and Doe Plantain, Finished Project |
| May 9, 2015
8 comments

Striped Linen Scout and Plain White Linden

Me-Made-May is off to a good start! I’ve got a couple of new garments to share today, both from Grainline Studio patterns. First is this light and airy Scout Tee.

linen scout front

This top is heavily inspired by this lovely striped Scout.

linen scout side

I added a curved hem and lengthened the sleeves so they could be rolled up.

linen scout back

The striped linen fabric from Stonemountain is very lightweight and a little crisp.

linen scount action

Since it was a little chilly out I layered on my new Linden sweatshirt. Although I wasn’t sure about a plain white sweatshirt I resisted the temptation to embellish. And I’ve gotta say I’m glad. Thanks to everyone who recommended leaving it plain!

white linden front

This is made from an organic cotton fleece. The only adjustment I made was to shorten the body by 2″ just like my other Lindens.

white linden back

I’m also linking up with Gray All Day’s Sew it Chic in a Week #14.

Category: Finished Project, Grainline Linden, Grainline Scout, Grainline Studio, Me Made May, Scout Tee |
| April 19, 2015
4 comments

Sacha’s Mabel

Dear Sacha,

Thanks for coming to visit us in California for Mom’s birthday. It was great to see you! I’m glad you brought your new Mabel skirt. It’s nice to have proof that I sew things for other people… I’ve included a few pictures from our day at the beach.

Sacha's Mabel

Sacha's Mabel

Come back soon.

Love,
Noelle

P.S. You thought we were taking pictures in the garage – but really, we were at Wright’s Beach! Magic green screen portal?

Details: Colette Mabel, sz S, Version 1 with ~3″ added length, double needle hem

Category: Colette Mabel, Colette Patterns, Finished Project |
| April 14, 2015
8 comments

Waldo Time

Up next is a striped Gainline Hemlock tee made with my usual modifications. Since it happens to look a little like Waldo we decided to have some fun with the pictures. Can you find me?

Waldo Hemlock

I love that we found another lady in red stripes to include.

Waldo Hemlock

The hat was crocheted by my sister Abby. She says it’s an ugly hat since it’s made from all her leftover bits of yarn. Since it’s my favorite hat (for now) I call it a pretty ugly hat!

Waldo Hemlock and Hat

I’m joining Gray All Day’s Sew it Chic link up again this week. Lots of great stuff to see!

Details: Grainline Hemlock tee with 2″ width removed front & back, sleeves longer and narrower, cuffs added to the sleeves, ~2 inches shorter

Category: Finished Project, Grainline Hemlock, Hemlock Tee |
| April 5, 2015
12 comments

Designer Inspired Silk Tanks

Hello, what have you been sewing? I’ve been working on some silk tanks. I saw this look from the Bally 2015 Spring collection and was really taken with the v-neck tank. The front seam, deep v, wide shoulder – yep, all of it. I decided to work from my Scout Tank which is loosely based on Grainline’s Scout Tee.

Here’s the first version:

Scout Tank

It’s made from a remnant of pale pink silk noil. Love the combination of drape and texture in this fabric.

Scout Tank

Scout Tank
For the next one I decided the v needed to be deeper and the shoulders a bit wider. The shoulder seams needed to be moved towards the back. And there was a bit of pulling from the armscye towards my bust – not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to tweak the fit a little. Here’s the second version:

Scout Tank

Woohoo! Very happy with this one – it’s got the design features I liked in the Bally tank and is perfectly wearable in real life (ahem, the v-neck is safe to wear to work). The armscye fits better too.

Scout Tank

This one is made from a lavender silk-cotton twill. I am so digging lavender right now and having a hard time finding fabric this color. I’d like to make one more of these. I think a fabric with a little more body might be nice – any suggestions?

Scout Tank

I’m also joining Gray All Day’s Sew it Chic link up this week. Be sure to check it out!

Details: started with Grainline Scout Tee sz 0, added front center seam, v-neck, wider shoulders, lower armscye, and pretty sure the original pattern was shortened 1″ or more

Category: Finished Project, Grainline Scout, Pattern Hack, Scout Tee |
| March 29, 2015
8 comments

Marthe, Marthe, Marthe

Hello there, let me introduce you to Marthe. She’s the newest top in my growing collection of boxy gathered peplums.

Marthe, Marthe, Marthe

I’ve had this pattern by Republique du Chiffon in mind for ages. I was a bit worried about the fact that it’s written in French. It didn’t look too complicated so I decided to give it a try. Especially after seeing this lovely version by Stitch and Cappuccino.

Marthe, Marthe, Marthe

Figuring out the directions turned out to be easy. But this was my first time using a pattern that needed seam allowances added… You probably know what I’m going to say next. I had the bodice and sleeves all cut out before I remembered that I didn’t add the seam allowances! Argh. Once I recovered from that mistake I sewed the size 36 with just a few alterations. I was concerned that the top might be too long so I intentionally left off seam allowances where the bodice joins the peplum and the hem. To shorten it just a little more the bottom is a double turned 5/8″ hem. I also left of the seam allowance around the neck. I like the fit and am happy with where the peplum hits. I also included the slit in the back so I could use a vintage button inherited from my grandmother’s stash.

Marthe, Marthe, Marthe

The fabric is a poly-rayon blend. It’s heavier than the rayons I’m used to working with and has a bit of texture. I used a cotton-silk blend fabric to make the bias tape for binding the neckline as I find it easier to be neat when I use a more stable fabric for bias tape.

Marthe, Marthe, Marthe

It’s rare that I don’t make multiples when I like a pattern this much. But the time for long sleeves will be ending soon. Perhaps a short sleeved one like Kat’s at House of Lane? There’s a black sand washed silk in my stash that might make a lovely version… Or maybe I’ll save the silk for RDC’s Lucie now that I’m not scared of French patterns.

Details: Republique du Chiffon Marthe blouse, sz 36, no seam allowance added to neck or hem, hem is double turned 5/8″

Category: Finished Project, Marthe, RDC |
| March 20, 2015
8 comments

Metallic Quilted Linden

I’ve got another Grainline Linden sweatshirt to share! It is a surprise to me that I’ve only made three of these so far – but I’m sure by this time next year there will be a dozen. In fact I’ve got a fluffy white organic cotton fleece standing by. I am a little concerned that a plain white sweatshirt will be too boring – any ideas for embellishing it? Maybe embroidery…

Metallic Quilted Linden

This was taken with a sculpture by Patrick Amiot – a local artist in Sebastopol. I couldn’t resist the farm girl and her pig. I’m sure she sews.

Metallic Quilted Linden

The fabric for this one is a quilted black poly with splotches of metallic silver. I overexposed this photo so it’s easier to see what the fabric looks like. I’m not a huge fan of poly (major understatement) but this one just looked so cool I had to have it. No regrets.

Details: Linden sweatshirt by Grainline, sz 2 graded to sz 4 at hip, shortened the body (front & back) by 2″

Category: Finished Project, Grainline Linden, Grainline Studio |
| March 13, 2015
4 comments

Feature or Flaw?

Although I’ve sewn plenty of cooler weather things it’s been hard to get inspired for pictures. But now that it feels like spring I’m ready to find a cool doorway… This is a swing tank based on Grainline’s Scout Tee first seen in a wild floral last fall.

Feature or Flaw?

Have you ever bought a piece of fabric and then discovered a big flaw that you couldn’t cut around? That’s what happened with this black linen. There’s a pretty noticeable line where the fabric changes from light grey to dark grey. I debated buying more fabric or covering the line with trim. In the end I figured why not make it a design feature! I was able to line it up on the front just over the bust like a yoke. And I think it manages to look pretty intentional. What do you think?

Feature or Flaw?

The only change I made for this version was to reduce the amount of swing a little. I just overlapped some of the “slashed & spread” sections to make it a bit more fitted through the body – I probably took out about an inch from the front and back. Next time I may lengthen it a bit in the front.

Details: based on Scout Tee sz 0, added about 3″ width to the bottom of the front and back, shortened by 1″, cut in the shoulders, brought the neckline up and added a bias bound slit to the neck

Category: Finished Project, Grainline Scout, Grainline Studio, Pattern Hack |
| February 14, 2015
4 comments

Hooked: Optical Illusions

Hi! It’s me, Abby, again. I was creative during the Christmas season – I crocheted lots of presents!

This is a Planket I made for my sister in Colorado. The granny squares looked simply striped on their own but together their powers combined to create a great visual illusion.

Hooked: Optical Illusions

For my brother-in-law also in Colorado, I made another Planket.

Hooked: Optical Illusions

I tried to make it masculine enough that he could take it hunting or camping but cozy enough to snuggle with on the couch.

Hooked: Optical Illusions

More Christmas present pictures to come….

Category: Abby, Crochet, Finished Project, Hooked |
| January 19, 2015
4 comments

Neon Red Linden & Two More…

Hello new favorite sweatshirt. So warm and snuggly, it’s the perfect thing to wear to the beach in January. This is the Linden sweatshirt from Grainline patterns. When it first came out I wasn’t sure that I needed sweatshirts. Then Christmas break happened and it was cold and I didn’t have to get dressed for work and I decided I did need sweatshirts. So off to Stonemountain and Daughter to find the right knits.

Neon Red Linden & Two More...

The fabric is a very thick and fluffy sweatshirt fleece in what may be my favorite shade of bright red. I cut a size 2 on top and graded out to a size 4 at the hip. I also shortened it by 2″ after comparing with another sweatshirt in my closet. It was a very fast and easy sew. I did try top stitching around the neck to tack down the seam, but the fabric is so thick that it ended up a bit uneven. A little unpicking fixed that.

Neon Red Linden & Two More...

As for the two more… The lovely striped hat I’m wearing was crocheted by my sister Abby (Thanks!). And what you can’t see is that I’m wearing a new pair of Cloth Habit’s Rosy Ladyshorts. This is the second pair and I’m pleased with the fit now that I’ve added about 1/2″ to the backside. I’m using these as practice while I work up to trying the new Watson pattern.

Details: Linden sweatshirt by Grainline, sz 2 graded to sz 4 at hip, shortened the body (front & back) by 2″; Cloth Habit Rosy Ladyshorts, sz 6, 1/2″ added to center back and graded to a smooth line, 1/2″ added to waist band

Category: Abby, Crochet, Finished Project, Grainline Linden, Grainline Studio, Hooked |
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »