Fun with Knits

Good news everyone, I'm making progress on my bagged projects and feeling a little less frazzled.  Luckily I had the stash busting theme of "Sewing for others" in my head and cut out mostly knit patterns for kids.  Few things are as quick and satisfying to me as serging together small brightly colored garments.

Since I'm a Kitschy Coo pattern junkie the Mini Penny Pinafore and the Girl's Skater Dress baggies got broken out first. Here they are frolicking together on the table. So happy together is playing somewhere in the distance.

The Mini Penny is all Lillestoff yardage left over from other projects.  There was just enough of the Matryoshka jersey to squeeze out the center panels. Now I have 2 largish squares that I'm holding on to for no reason.  It just seems wrong to throw precious Lillestoff away, The Precious!!

Also have got to remember for the future to buy more than 1 yard of solid red jersey.  Since it works for both boys and girls I need MOAR for my 3 kid models.

The Girl's skater used up almost all of the fanged clouds jersey bought long ago from The fabric fairy.  That jersey doesn't have a lot of snap to it so I did the neckband and cuffs in ribbing.  This particular ribbing behaved more like interlock so I didn't have to cut down the length of the pattern pieces at all. Excellent /\.

Now that a couple of things are sewn up for my niece, it's time to move on to her brother.  I was very taken with the new ShwinDesign's Anytime at all Tee pattern released last week. It probably has something to do with the boy model who is just adorbs. The design it's self has several styling options that will work for either boys or girls. I'm starting with the color blocked option to use up some narrow scraps lurking in the stash.

Master Desmond will get one of these later if he's nice and stops trying to steal my bobbins. "It's a wheel Mommy! A wheel!" Back you little beastie, go find your own wheels.

Since I've been having fun sewing with knits, I've decided spread the fun.  Back when I had an office job there was a Barnes and Noble in walking distance and I bought way too many books. One of them was the Built by Wendy "Sew U Home Stretch" book.  It's a nice book for learning how to sew knits and do some basic pattern hacking.  I don't use it much, so it seems right to pass it on to someone else.

It has a crinkled page here and there, but the patterns are uncut and no pages have been removed by idle toddler hands.  I'm also gonna throw in 2 yards of 60" wide rayon/cotton/lycra jersey.  It's heathered yellow/green with a navy stripe.  Light weight with very little rolling, originally from Marcy Tilton who always stocks nice knits.

If you'd like to be entered in the give away then just leave a comment saying so.  I'll pick a winner next Monday, may the odds ever be in your favor.

I'm getting around the web

Just a quickie post today to say that crazy old me is being featured over on Seamstress Erin's blog. I was flattered to participate in her "Sewing and Style" series. So if you like to reading my odd answers to questions then click on over.

In other news I have two PJ eater's fighting for supremacy in my sewing area. Do you think they can call a truce for Valentine's Day? Maybe I should just throw two bags of candy in a corner and let them have at it.

Too many plans, not enough garments

As the blog post says I have lots and lots of plans for the month. OK, I ALWAYS  have lots and lot of plans for the month, mostly cause my sewing brain likes to plot continuously. "What are we going to do tonight Brain?  Same thing we do every night, Try to Sew Up All The Fabric!" (cue theme music)

My usual method to keep things under control is to have only 3-4 projects cut out at once. Maybe less if one of them is a larger project like a coat. The long term power outage blew all that to shreds, making me cut out oodles of stuff.  Now I'm awash in plastic baggies and I can't seem to stop my rotary blade.  "Feed me fabric, Feed me all night long! Nom Nom Nom!"  Can I use my rotary blade's addiction as an excuse to buy more fabric?  No? Crap.

Anyway here is what is on my sewing sideboard right now.
1. Pair of Maria Denmark Lounge Pants - found I had extra fabric left over so I made....

2. Yet another pair of Winter PJ's - Some times I wish I was my son with a whole wardrobe of Lillestoff PJ's

3. Kitschy Coo Mini Penny Dress - I'm starting to feel that my youngest niece will grow out of the size of my fabric scraps if I don't act soon.

4. Pattern hack of the Kitschy Coo Penny Pinafore to turn it into a zip front hoodie - I wanted a fitted hoodie and though, "Hey that Penny Pinafore might work great." So far it's looking good.

5. Bluegingerdoll Stella turned into a shift dress for Blue February - have to refit a smaller size so it's a bit more work than it would be.  I've got a cute idea that I hope works out.

6. Kitschy Coo Skater dress - Same scrap concerns as the mini penny.  Also girls dresses are super fun to sew. I will milk it until she says NOOOO!

7. Pajama Eater for my older niece - "Where are my feet?!"

8. Oliver + S Raglan shirt - half cut, I have to work out adding some rib cuffs cause my contrast fabric is just a touch too short.

9. Renfrew for my sister - Everyone should have one right?

10. Fiddlesticks Patrick Raglan - 1/4 cut cause I don't know which fabric to put with it. OK I know what I should put with it but I want to keep it for myself.

11. Jamie Jeans muslin #2 - I don't really want to fit pants....but I need pants. The cycle of pants fitting hate continues. Damn't Nathan Fillian, why won't you tell me the number you are currently thinking of!

12. The quilt. - Hey are you gonna sew any more blocks Heather? Or just keep buying fat quarters.....I think we all know the answer to that.

There are also a bunch of printed out PDF patterns taking up my brain space.  You lot behave! You're only there in case of more weather created emergencies. I can still hear them chittering like squirrels.

Sighhhhh, could someone please send Mr. Miyagi over to help me focus?  I hear he runs a pretty good car detailing services too.  "Wax on, wax off.

I need a generator....for my sewing machine.

Hey there sewing friends, I hope you are all are currently warm and snug in your houses  This week my family experienced a 2 day power outage that put quite the crimp in my plans for the week.  There was a very bad ice storm that brought down power lines in record numbers.  Our local electricity company reported that only Hurricane Sandy had more power outages. (Ironically we didn't lose power at all during Sandy.)  After a day and a half I packed up my son and headed to my in-laws to warm up and have a decent meal....and maybe get a social media fix.  I missed you internet!!!!

Before I cut and ran there was plenty of time to make sewing plans, cut out fabric, and try to explain a power outage to a 3 year old. (His take - "Daddy break TV?") Here are a couple things "I discovered" while waiting for the zombies to show up.

- One way of getting back your sewing mojo is to not be able to sew at all.  Thanks power company, you're doing God's work.

- Hooray for TNT patterns and stashed kid's prints. Cutting out a couple dresses and PJ's in fun prints will raise your core temp about 5 degrees.  Fangy Clouds! 

- Getting into the habit of prewashing all fabric as it enters the house is one of the best things I've learned. OK maybe flossing regularly was a better habit than prewashing, but this isn't a dental hygiene blog. Ewwwww.

- If an ice storm is forecasted then for the love of God print out all the PDF patterns.  Don't decide to go to bed like a chump. Go liberate the printer from your husband's clutches instead, cause your future sanity depends on it.

- I can "use up" a brand new rotary cutting blade in a day.  It died of sheer exhaustion with out ever getting to taste my blood.  Muhaa haaa, even my frozen fingers are too fast.

- You can trace patterns and cut fabric by candle light, eye strain be damned.  Also I need more candles and maybe a candelabra so I can be fancy. My spaghetti sauce jar holders are betraying my hick roots.

- Writing down blog posts on pieces of paper reveals how non logical my writing process is.  I'm like the proverbial room full of monkey's just with better potty training.  I is an edumacated student?

-Without distractions like stupid housework and fun social media, I'm super productive. Look Ma, I cut out 8 sewing projects! Now I just have to get my minions to start sewing.  Froggie, put down that pan of brownies and get to work.  

I've Caught the Quilting Bug

To be completely truthful I caught the quilting bug some time ago, but it was laying dormant waiting for it's moment. I started getting an itchy brain rash when I saw Morgan's stash busting quilt. Indigo and white, yesssss. *drooools on self*  So much better than the hand me down quilt on my bed. The color scheme is muddied pinks and pastels.......Heather does not do pastels, Ever.  The thoughts of making my own queen sized indigo/white quilt flitted through my brain and the quilting rash spread a little more.

If might have recovered from the quilting bug if Gillian hadn't announced her plans of making a quilt this year.  She started flashing her fabrics, indigo and white again but with pops of bright color.  OMG I feel feverish all over and I think my tongue is swelling.  I have Quilt-itus!  So what's a girl to do when she comes down with Quilt-itus and has declared a stashbusting/saving pledge?  Well if you're me, then you might remember how past Heather bought supplies for a quilt two years ago.  Oh stash, you're the gift that keeps on giving.

The original infestation of the quilting bug was probably via the Mason Dixon ladies, who brought the book "Modern Log Cabin Quilting" to my attention.  They used the cover quilt "Modern Crosses" as the inspiration to create the Mitered Cross afghan pattern.  I knit two of those and would cast on a 3rd if a pile of Noro happened to rain down from heaven. "Noro rain, Noro rain, ooooo ooooo Noro rain." - to the tune of AquaBat's Burger Rain.

Sorry got sidetracked there... long story short, Past Heather loved that afghan pattern so much that she bought the quilting book too.  She might have also spent many an afternoon buying fat quarters from Etsy, cause that's not like buying "real fabric." Yeah, there's a reason I have a stash to bust.

Caught in quilting fever I finally cracked that book open and started reading.  Strips, centers, chain piercing? Oh thank god a diagram. OK brain, I don't like you and you don't like me but we've go some work to do.    Commence deleting the rest of algebra to make room for some new crafting knowledge. Ooo that tingles!

After getting my mind wrapped around the whole concept, the actual block making was a breeze. It's soothing chain piercing a bunch of tiny squares and turning them into blocks.  The colors pop in the white frames and I LOVE IT! Oh quilting bug, you and I are pals....until someone releases a new pattern. Patterns!

A How To - Plantain Tee with Yoke

Hey bloggy readers, I made a plantain....just like everybody else.

But wait, there's something a little different here...is that some sort of contrast yoke?

Why yes it is a yoke and I even got fancy and put some stretch mesh lacy fabric on it.

The old gray cells and I were trying to think up a way to jazz up this pattern a bit. It took a few weeks, but finally we and hit upon a way to use that stashed stretch mesh. Add yoke with overlay, sooooo easy. It really is easy and I've put a little tutorial in the pattern changes/alterations section.

Pattern
Deer & Doe Plantain (free pattern)

Fabrics used
Soy/cotton jersey and stretch mesh. I got the stretch mesh from Marcy Tilton some time ago.

It's a fabric that I'm not sure how to use most of the time. But come on, a cool feather design, I couldn't pass that up.  Marcy stocks a lot of stretch mesh if you're looking for that type of fabric for any reason.

Pattern changes/alterations
I traced a straight size 42 and only added about a 1/4" of extra ease at the hemline.  The real change made to the pattern was to add at yoke design.  It's a fairly easy to do and I'll show you how.

1. You'll need to grab the front and back pattern pieces of Plantain.  Make sure the seam allowance is drawn in on the shoulder seams.  I also added the seam allowance to the other edges to make measuring the finished yoke more accurate.

 2. Starting with the back, measure 4" down the seam allowance at CB and mark.  Use this mark and the CB to draw a perpendicular line across the back. This will be your back yoke seam line.

3. Cut the pattern apart on the line, then tape extra paper to the cut edges so you can draw in the seam allowance.  Once you have the new SA trimmed up your back piece is done.

4. Next take your front and draw in the seam allowance on the the neck and arm edge.  We're going to measure down on the SA for the front yoke line.  On the neckband edge measure down 2 3/4"and mark.

On the armhole edge measure down 3 1/2" and mark.

Then draw a diagonal line connecting the two marks for your front yoke line.

5. Once again cut the yoke line and then add seam allowance to the cut edges.

6. The last step is to connect the two yoke pieces.  Take the front and lay the shoulder stitch line on top of the back shoulder stitch line. Tape in place and trim up any overhanging edges.

You'll want to mark both the armhole and neckline shoulder points as notches.  Then when you're sewing the shirt up later you'll still have matching points for the sleeve head and neckband even though the seam is no longer there.

Now your pattern is ready to sew!

Confessions/Advice
I was a bit worried about sewing on the elbow patches on the old sewing machine.  Turns out if you use a stable knit, stretch needle, and a longer stitch length then elbow patches are easy peasy.

Husband Comment
"It's kind of like a Star Trek uniform with the stuff on the shoulders. What is that fabric? Isn't that bra fabric? You have bras on your elbows."

My Final Thoughts
This is a nicely drafted pattern with clear directions. If the style pleases you than go make a bunch of them. :)

It's time for the leopard scarf drawing results!  Thanks to everyone who put their name in, wish I had a scarf for each of you. Mr. Bee did the picking honors and the winner was Maris Olsen. Maris just send me your mailing address to knit(dot)n(dot)frog23@gmail.com and I will dispatch the scarf.

Leopard Party Bellatrix Blazer

It seems fitting to round out Jungle January with a party....a leopard print party to be exact.

My outer leopard shell is muted and business like, but my inner leopard skin is all "Hello and MEOW!"

But let's back up and talk about the Bellatrix pattern for a moment.  When Papercut Patterns released their Constellation collection I practically foamed at the mouth upon seeing this blazer.  I've got a fever for blazers and the only prescription is more blazers!!! At least that's what Dr. Frog tells me.

I swear on Dr. Frog's fake medical degree that I was going to sew this pattern up immediately. But that pesky Christmas/germ tsunami totally took the wind out of my sales.  My forlorn Bellatrix muslin stared at me sadly from the corner for weeks. "Why won't you sew me? I thought we were in luv."  Poor blazer, I couldn't let it go on pining for another month. Instead I got my shit together and decided to pull out ALL the leopard print.  Bellatrix Blazer, you will be a magnificent beast! *Cue "Bungle in the Jungle*

The main fabric is a stretch cotton twill picked up from Marcy Tilton last year. Most of the pattern pieces need to be fused, so the stretch factor is moot in the finished garment. Speaking of fuse, I used my favorite "Pro Weft" for the majority of the jacket.   For the extra collar fuse, sleeve facings and welts, I swapped in a different product from Pam, "Pro woven crisp".  I found that pro woven crisp takes a lot more work to fuse completely. You really have to wet it down, put a press cloth on top and just lay the iron on it for a minute. Worth the effort cause I like the way it looks in the blazer.

For the finishing touch I did pull out more of my leopard lining stash. Pretty sure it goes with everything.

Pattern
Papercut Pattern's Bellatrix Blazer

Fabrics used
Self - Stashed Stretch leopard cotton twill
Lining - Stashed Leopard lining
Interfacing - Stashed Fashion Sewing Supply Pro weft, with some Pro woven crisp in the collar/sleeve facings and welts.
Button - a freebie from some past Waecter's order

All Stash Project - collect your bonus internet points! Cha-ching.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. I had to do a giant forward shoulder adjustment on this pattern 1 1/4". The corresponding change to the sleeve cap makes for one funky looking pattern.

2. Normal 1/2" upper back width increase with added shoulder dart.
3. Sway back adjustment of 3/4".

4. Added 3/8" to the side seams to increase the hem sweep.

Confessions/Advice
- I think this pattern is drafted very slim through the hips or maybe just with flat butts in mind.  My muslin was made back in December using a blend of sizes M and L, which should have fit my hips.  I found the waist and hip area both way too small and put the muslin away for awhile.  This month I'm 10 lbs down and have lost several inches from both of these areas.  I still found the hip area too small and added more ease the hem area. I would advise anyone that carries their weight in the hips/butt area to size up on the lower half, especially if you want to wear this blazer over pants.

- I decided to bag the lining instead of following the directions.  Then discovered that it's impossible to under-stitch the bottom of the blazer from a gap in the armhole lining.  Solution - open up the lining side seam as instructed, under-stitch, then turn the jacket inside out again and stitch up the side seam.  Then you can turn the blazer right side out through the armhole gap and machine sew that closed.  No hand sewing makes Heather a happy girl.

Husband Comment
"That looks nice and it has real pockets that work." *Shoves his hands in the pockets to check that his eyes aren't deceiving him.*

My Final Thoughts 
The construction of this blazer was different from most that I've previously sewed.  I did find that enjoyable and think it would be a good pattern for those not experienced with sewing blazers. The fusing does take a fair bit of work at the beginning. However this step gives the finished blazer a crisp professional look, so don't skip it.  The inseam welt pockets are super easy to sew. Can all my welt pockets be inseam from now on?

Beep Beep Beep!  Oh no, it's the stash-o-meter! It seems my leopard print stash levels are now dangerously low. Frog take a note - Schedule trip to Katie's house to steal more leopard print before next Jungle January. We have to be prepared for more Jungle parties.

- I'm going to do the scarf drawing next post, so you'll have to bite your fingernails for now.