My Raincoat Is Almost Finished!!

Usually my sewing projects are unplanned.  I buy fabric I like when it is on sale.  If I think the fabric will become a skirt that comes to the knee, I get a 1 1/2 yards; if I think the fabric will become a pair of pants, I get 2 or 2 1/2 yards depending upon the width; if the fabric is knit and will become a shirt, I buy 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 yards; and so on.  I bring this fabric home and put it in my "stash" as it is lovingly called by those of us who sew.  Eventually I will see a pattern that is perfect for the fabric and start sewing. 

This raincoat is an exception.  I saw the fabric, a laminated cotton by Amy Butler, and immediately knew I wanted to make a raincoat.  Honestly, I just saw an image of the fabric online when I read about it during the debut at quilt market.  I loved the laminated cotton by Anna Maria Horner last year.  The manufacturer only did one running of that fabric and it sold out quickly.  I guess they decided not to make more since they had so many other laminated cottons in the works.

This new line by Amy Butler is called "Love".  The colors are so bright and vibrant.  I really like all of the prints in the new line.  I had not liked her most recent lines as they were repeats of previous lines and the color schemes were too pale for my taste.  She shook things up with these fabrics!

Back to the raincoat.  I saw the fabric and knew I wanted to make a raincoat.  I had a mental image of the coat I wanted to make.  It is always more difficult to find a pattern when you have such a clear picture of what you want to make.  I searched all of the pattern companies, I looked through the reviews at Pattern Review, I looked and looked.  I finally settled upon "The Easy Coat 122" by Christine Jonson. 

I made one change in the pattern.  I read in the reviews that many found the sleeves to be too short.  I used a Jalie sleeve pattern to determine the length I needed.  Since I wanted a cuff on the sleeve to show the lining fabric, I added even more to the length.  I angled that extra length out a little so it would lay right over the sleeve when I turned it.  (I angled it out by flipping the sleeve pattern around and tracing the bottom of the sleeve backwards for a few inches.  Now I have a really long sleeve pattern that has an indention where you turn it - it looks sort-of like an hour glass near the bottom!)

The pattern went together easily, just as the name implies.  It suggests five buttons, but I have decided I want three.  I just do not have anywhere to buy those buttons!  We had to go into a larger town today to a birthday party, so I ran into a fabric shop there.  The shop has beautiful buttons, but they were wood or fancy.  I want big plastic buttons, something that goes with the fact that this is a raincoat.  I would love to find some in the pink/purple type color of the flowers, but considering my current situation I guess I may have to settle for another color.  We shall see.

While I was in the store looking for buttons, I got out the coat.  I had taken it in hopes of matching buttons.  Another customer just loved it and wanted to know where I bought it!  I told her I made it.  She asked again if I had really made the entire coat!  She thought she had misunderstood me!  She thought I had bought it and was just changing the buttons on it to suit my taste.  I told her that I had actually made the entire coat.

(I fought my urges to put it on and prance around the store with pride!  I remained humble.)

I worked hard to get the fabric placement right in the front.  Once I have buttons, I want it to overlap just right.  I spent an inordinate amount of time matching the fabric to make the patch pockets that are on the front.  I will have to take better pictures of those for my next post.  I am quite proud of them - other than the topstitching, they blend right into the front of the coat!

I did not match the back.  I considered removing the seam from the back pattern piece and puting it on the fold.  I played with that, but the width between the flowers on the fabric was too great.  I finally decided that the back did not need to match anywhere.  (This was very difficult for me!)  Instead of matching the fabrics, I chose flower placement instead!  There are two flowers on the fabric, one set has a green stem and the other has the pink/purple stem.  As you can see below, I put one on each side.

The lining is the fabric you see on the belt and collar.  I will take better pictures of the lining to post another night!

I plan to bring a little cheer to rainy days!!

The Asheville, In Amy Butler's Love

I really like Amy Butler's new line of fabric, Love.  Six of the fabrics have been made into laminated cottons.  I ordered some of the laminated prints last week and anxiously awaited their arrival.  (I should say I impatiently awaited their arrival!) 

They got here Monday.  I had cut out some pants Sunday night, so I made myself finish those Monday night.  Tuesday night was spent working with the new laminated cotton.  I got out all of the prints and debated which ones to use.  They are all so pretty!

I decided upon the purple because I thought it was the most wintry looking.  Wintry in that it is a darker color.  This is the fabric I plan to use for my next project -- a rain coat!!

The interior fabric is a coordinating fabric.  I debated using it for the exterior.  It was such a hard decision!  I used the interior fabric for the handles and the flap used for closure.  I like the look of the coordinating, yet contrasting fabric.

It is hard to see the details, but the pocket area is divided into three sections.  Can you see why I had such a hard time deciding upon the fabric?

I made this using a pattern of my own design that I named "The Asheville". 

I made several of "The Asheville" purses in the spring using laminated cotton by Anna Maria Horner.  I was upset that the fabric company chose not to do a second running of that fabric as I did quite well selling "The Asheville" in the laminated cotton.  I was thrilled when I learned that they were coming out with quite a few laminated cottons by different designers this fall!  These by Amy Butler are the first to hit stores.

I must now study the pattern I am going to use for my rain coat and begin working on that!

McCall's 5974 - Wrap Dress

This is a knit dress made using the pattern, McCall's 5974.  It is called "The Perfect Knit Dress".

I believe it has potential to live up to that title of perfection.  I had one problem with it.  As with my earlier length problems when I made Jalie 2682, I am too long.  The waist on this dress SHOULD be at my waist.  Instead, it is an empire waist.  This isn't as obvious when I have the ties wrapped and tied.  You can see the location of the waist when the ties are open as below:

The print makes it difficult to see, but if you look closely you will see that the waistband is high.  The dress is also a little short on me. 

Once I have finished some other projects and gotten through the holidays, I think I will add a second waistband around the entire dress.  I am going to put it below the one that is currently on the front.  I will also lower the ties as they are too high on me.  Adding in this waistband will give the extra length needed at the hem.  Right now it comes mid-knee.  I want it to come down to the top of my boots!

Back of the dress:

The fabric is a cotton/lycra blend.  I love the rich colors in it.  I spent a lot of time laying out the fabric.  It wanted to go astray after I folded it, so I ended up pinning it at each medallion.  That was the only way I could get the fabric to lay right so I could cut it.  It was time consuming, but well worth the effort to keep the print straight across the front and back.

I have emailed the pattern designer to ask about my fitting issues.  I figured out how to correct the problem previously on the tops, but I thought I would see what the experts said!  I really want to know the best place to add the 1 1/4" of fabric I need in length.

BWOF 11-2008 #117

This is going to become a favorite skirt.  I love everything about it.  The fabric is a nice weight in a great camel color that will go with many things.  The style is also one that I have always loved. 

Burda World of Fashion (BWOF) took that great style and added some flare with the interesting seams in the front and back. 

The pattern was intended for a lighter weight fabric, but I already had this heavier brushed twill and thought it would look great.  As I made the skirt, I realized that a lighter weight fabric was recommended because of those 90 degree seams you see.  They would be easier to accomplish with thinner fabric.  I worry that my fabric may fray too much at those areas as the skirt is washed.  I had to cut the corner fairly close to the seam to get the corners to turn correctly. (Maybe I will go back and add some fray check.)

I wore the skirt last night to the school play, "Down By the Creek Bank".  All three boys were in it.  Unfortunately, we were in a big hurry before the play, so the pictures were taken when we got home.  The skirt was a bit wrinkled by that time!

The fabric I chose did have stretch.  The pattern said to use lining with stretch also.  I didn't have any lining fabric with stretch, so I used normal lining.  It worked just fine.  To be honest, I don't know a lot about lining fabrics.  I didn't know they made lining fabric with stretch!

My only complaint is that the front tends to pooch out just a wee little bit.  I may go back and sew down that front seam to make it a little flatter.  The front and back seams are slightly curved, something that is necessary for the back.  As I wore it last night, it hit me that I could take in that seam some to fix my problem.  At least, I think that will work!

Here is the back (wrinkles and all): 

Full body shot:

Jalie 2805 - V-Neck Shirt

This is my second time using Jalie 2805.  The first time I made a turtleneck.  The pattern includes several neck options.

When this fabric arrived, I could not figure out what to do with it.  The print is much bigger than I envisioned!  I finally decided that this simple v-neck style would best show the print.

I hemmed this top over the weekend and wore it Sunday.  As usual with these shirts, I am struck by how much I like the length.  I appreciate the length even more as I constantly pull down my RTW shirts that are just a little too short!

Finished a Top - Jalie 2910 in Brown

I made this shirt last Monday.  Well, I did everything but hem the sleeves and bottom.

 M. was sickly that day.  Honestly, I think he was overly tired from the time change and had just a little too much Halloween!  Anyway, I made two Jalie tops while he watched tv and rested.  He soon felt better and talked -- A LOT!!  He told me ALL about Star Wars as I sewed.  I must say I learned a lot!

I ordered the fabric online.  It wasn't quite what I wanted.  It gets that funny shine when you iron over the humps.  Plus, it is almost a little see through.

C. (6) took the pictures.  The one of my back is rather fuzzy.  This was the best of the ones he took. 

BWOF 9/2009 #125/126 - Modified

I have wanted to make an aline skirt cut on the bias for the last few months.  They are in many catalogs and just so cute.  I have always loved preppy clothing and I see this as preppy with a bit of attitude!

I can't seem to find a good pattern for an aline skirt.  Burda patterns fit me well, so I poured through the magazines I have.  I looked through the pages in the front where they show the garment pictures and then I looked at the line drawings.  You know, the pictures are deceptive.  The line drawings give a much better idea of the true look of the pattern.  I found a slightly aline skirt in the 9/2009 issue.  I traced it and then flared it out a little more to give it that more traditional aline look I wanted.

I bought the fabric at Joann's several months ago when they first put out winter fabric.  It was on sale and I immediately pictured the skirt you see above.  I now know that I should have picked a fabric with a tighter weave.  If you are going to make a skirt on the bias, it needs to be a tight weave.  I know that NOW!

I knew the fabric would stretch on the bias, so I cut the facings on the sraight grain and put a lightweight, yet strong, fusible interfacing on them.  When I tried to pin the skirt to the facing, I could not believe just how much the skirt had stretched!  (Hence the need for a tight weave fabric!)  It was several inches larger than it was when I started!  I put a lot of water in my iron and steamed and steamed and steamed it to get it back to just about the right size.  I got it to match the facings, but I still need to take it in more.

The skirt remains a little big.  I wore it today and it is hanging at least an inch or more lower than what I like.  I really think the problem is how much it stretched during construction.  I believe I will take it in a little bit and then wash and dry it.  I lined it so I won't need to wear a slip and so it won't stretch out as much when I wear it.

I think I can tweak this pattern to make it my go to aline skirt pattern.  The darts seem rather long, but they are probably a good length for me.  (They look a little funny with the plaid, though.)  I can use the skirt and then flare it out like I like and lengthen it.  I like the flare and length of this skirt, but I don't like the waistline.  I think I can combine the best of the two skirts and make one I actually really like!  That is my goal, anyway.

Here is the back

The boys told me I looked very Scottish today!

I received several compliments.  I mentioned to one lady that I made the skirt.  She was duly impressed.  She used to sew and complimented how well I had matched my seams!  Yes, she made me feel rather good!