Simplicity 2245

Oh I can be such a doofus!  I've been sewing for months for the Sewing With a Plan contest (SWAP) at Stitcher's Guild, and I finished on time... but I totally spaced out and missed the deadline to get photos in yesterday.  So frustrated with myself.  Oh well, at least I have some great new things.

ANYWAY, moving on.  I have to catch up on showing my me-made photos, but trust I have still been participating.  For now, I'll show something brand new, finished up just yesterday - Simplicity 2245, which is apparently so out-of-print that it isn't on the Simplicity website anymore.

Now, I have mixed feelings about this.  I fear that it won't be very popular.  It has a distinct whiff of muumuu.  However, the fabric is so pretty, and it fits well, and the pockets are just so handy for toting around my iPod that I am in love.

The height of fashion?  No.  Not even with the cute little star buttons which probably push it into twee-town.

But goodness help me, I just like it.  Is it super "becky-home ec-y"?  Do I care?  I tried it with a couple different pairs of leggings, but I like it best with some white shorts just peeking out the bottom.  Hubs thinks it is super retro... like 1950s housewife housedress.  Not his least favorite thing I've made but not his most favorite either.

Do the pockets make it look like a nurse's smock?  I can't decide.  Again, though, I can't be bothered to get too worked up about it either way.  Maybe if I'd made the yoke and cuffs from the same fabric as the body, it would look more conventional?  I don't know.  Practicality wins me over either way.  I just am in love with these big pockets.

I know using a quilting cotton for a garment is the ultimate faux pas for some seamstresses, but I just can't get worked up about it.  I know this is not the latest thing from a catwalk, but I just don't care.  The fabric makes me happy.  I just hope I'm not a walking billboard for "why not to sew your own clothes."  :-)

Oh, the fabric is by Moda.

Simplicity 2181

Thanks so much for the comments on my red sweater.  That was a real labor of love, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. 

Today, I'm going to share a top I made about a week ago for a little break from my cranberry jacket.  I really want to finish that jacket up before I leave for a short Thanksgiving vacay in a few days.  All it needs is buttons and a couple of buttonholes.

This is Simplicity 2181, which I made once before here.

I love how this one turned out, also, but I wonder if I should shorten it a few inches.  It's giving off a bit of a sloppy vibe here to me, maybe because it's paired with the slouchy knit pants (also recently sewn, which I'll explain in my next post)

Maybe the solution is to try it with some skinny jeans today and see what I think.  If I still don't love the length then, time for a chop.  What do you think?

Of course, skinny jeans seems to be my go-to for unfrumpying my comfiest tops.  :-)

Here is a closeup of the front detail.  The fabric is Magenta Magic from Sawyer Brook.  I love when I make this top how it all comes together in one step when you put in that little strip to make the fabric bunch up.  I still think this is a great pattern for a really fluid jersey. 

The only change I made was to give my hips a bit more room, probably about two inches total.  If you recall, on the last version, I hemmed it a bit shorter because the hip area was tight.

 

Button-front A-line skirt (Simplicity 2564)

I've finished my third skirt for the Sawyer Brook sew along.  I modified Simplicity 2564 (also used for my scalloped pencil skirt) to slightly A-line and button up the front.  To do this, I just eliminated the back zip and split the front piece in two, adding fabric for the overlap and folds of the button bands.

The fabric is Balsa Linen and the buttons are Kera. 

Simplicity 2564

Here is skirt #2 for my Sawyer Brook sew along!

The pattern is Simplicity 2564 and the fabric is Springtime Satin in leek.  It's a bit snug.  I didn't used to have the problem that things came out too small, and this has happened before in the recent past, so I think it's time to take new measurements.

aaaand.... BOOM, the booty.  This is the reason I won't be wearing this skirt to church tomorrow.

I explained the scalloped hem here.  The only thing I'll add is to recommend doing that with a facing instead of a lining (which I did).  No matter how you smooth and pin, there will be little hang-ups on the lining, and I find myself adjusting quite often in this skirt.  In hindsight, I could have done the scallop with a 4" or so facing and then still added a lining that ended above the scallops.  Live and learn.

Simplicity 2181

So I finished up Vogue 1271, and it's waiting to be blogged, but first I wanted to throw this up.  :-)  I am in LOVE with this top.  I took about an hour to cut it out last night to get the placement and symmetry just right, and then it took less than two hours to sew!  I had the idea at 8 pm, and before 11, it was all finished and ready to wear today.

This is Simplicity 2181, which I just bought this week.  I'm quite certain this will be the perfect Florida spring top.  It is so loose and airy.  It's pretty low-cut, but not gaping.

The fabric is poly jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.  Do you remember it, fellow bloggers?  It was everywhere about 2-3 years ago.  It was the must-have jersey.  I missed out on the first batch and snagged some when it was back in stock.  Then it sat and sat and sat because I was scared of the print.  How to place the white?  How to use the border?  I can't explain this top other than to say that inspiration struck last night.

It doesn't even make me look pregnant like some gathered tops can.  It doesn't exactly make me look busty, but we can't ask it to perform miracles.  I made a size 10 and the only thing I changed was taking up the hem, and that was just because it was a bit snug around my bum and made the belly bag out a bit.  If, no when, I make this again, I'll add a little width to the hip area and keep it tunic length. 

This would be so easy to modify for maternity, too, not that I'm thinking about that.