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.

The Buzz About Sewcial Bee

I think most of you know about the "Super Online Sewing Bee" that Sew Mama Sew is hosting right now. It sparked a flurry of discussion among my sewing tweeps about sewing challenges.  Then Gillian, who is always coming up with great ideas, suggested we do a little informal sewing bee.  Leila and Gillian started hammering out rules, a flicker group was created and we nominated/roped Gillian's sister Annie into coming up with the first challenge for us.
Here are the basics which I'm coping straight from Annie.

1. This post goes live at 3 PM on Sunday, July 14, 2013, at 3 PM EST/8 PM GMT. Participants get 24 hours from that time to design/draft/sew their garments — but really, the idea is that they should at least attempt to limit themselves to about 4 hours of sewing time.
   The 24-hour window is so that people in any time zone can participate. Having it over a Sunday night/Monday morning means that both weekend and weekday sewers can take part.
2. TNT patterns (tried ‘n’ tested) are totally welcome, and, in fact, encouraged. Riffing on a staple design is important if they’re going to manage much in that 4-hour sewing time!
3. There’s no judging, and (at this point) no prizes, other than the glorious satisfaction of a challenge well mastered.
4. At the end of the 24 hours, participants are to submit photos of themselves wearing their completed garments (or incomplete, for that matter) to the group Flickr pool. (Questions and chatter will take place in the group forums, at the same link.)
5. It’s an open event: anyone is welcome to join in!

Sunday afternoon Annie posted the first challenge which was to made a top that coordinated with a triangular scarf.
 
Since I have no concept of my actual sewing time my first idea was to whip out another Archer.  Hey I've made 3 so whipping one out in 24 hours is totally doable right?  Well about 9pm Sunday night I realized that was crazy talk and I should get out some sort of knit top so that there was a completed garment to show Monday afternoon. Enter the Sloppy Josephine Tee pattern that I'd made up back in May. That seemed like a 4 hour project and I had a long stashed knit that was perfect for it.

Fourish nonconsecutive hours later here it is with a Scalene scarf I knit a few years ago.

In May I promised you all a review and never did it. So without out further ado let's get to it.

Pattern
Sloppy Josephine Tee from Paper Cut patterns.  It's a lot of money for what is a basic raglan tee but I though about it obsessively for months.  It comes with neat packaging on a brown paper stock that is thicker than your average tissue paper.

Fabrics used
Knit burnout from the deeper part of the stash, maybe 3/4 years old. It was originally from Tessuti Fabric who's fabrics I miss buying. Here's a mid process pic showing the taupey bits are burnt out.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. My version is a total mongrel of sizes. The neckline and raglan sleeves are size small.  The hemline is a size large and the bottom of the sleeves are a size medium.

2. I lengthened the sleeved to a 3/4 one.  Since the sleeve hem was already snug I slashed and spread the pattern to add 5" of length.

3. I took 2" off the length of the shirt and added a fold over Renfrew like hem band that was 2.5" finished.  I really like the hem band on my feather print version but am tempted to take it off on this one.  Gonna wait until later for the final decision since I like my shirts longer when wearing pants.

Confessions/Advice
1. As usual I didn't read directions and just went on a maverick sewing journey, there isn't much to mess up other than the neckband.  I originally put it in like you do on a renfrew, fold in half and serge. This mostly works except for the CF will gape out a bit.  If you insert is like the directions say, sew one edge/fold over/topstitch, then it lays nice an flat.

2. Make sure you mark the neck band and neckline into quarters and pin before trying to serge it on.  Otherwise it is a complete pain in the ass to do.

3.  There is a lot of ease in this pattern and even with a small sized neckband this top wants to fall off your shoulders.  I don't mind having a Flashdance-esque top in my wardrobe but you may not.

Husband Comment
"Hey that's a nice shirt, you need more cut that low."

My Final Thoughts
I'm very pleased with this pattern.  It makes a trendy top that would be easy to layer in the spring/fall weather.  I need to make some faux leather jackets for just that purpose.

I had a super fun time doing this sewical bee challenge, also check out the other projects in the flickr group. We'll be doing this again and I'll be sure to give you a heads up before hand if you feel like joining in.

Me-Made-May Day 24 - My Hometown

My hometown is everybody's home town.....at least that's what our slogan is.  You'll have to take my word for it....a certain person cut half of it out. Yes it was me.

We happen to be the county seat which means we have a "Back to the Future" like court house.  "MARTY!"

A small theater which holds various plays through out the year.

And trolleys, butt ugly trolleys.....way to go SEPTA (P.S. Thank you internet for most of the street images)

There is also a little plaza where a crazy person can set up a tri-pod and take pictures of herself.  Here I am doing my best Fonzie impression, EHHHHHHH!  Now where's a juke box that I can hit?

Check out my cool new top, see it's cool cause looking off into the distance with my shades on. It happens to be the Papercuts Sloppy Josephine top.  Well technically a highly bastardized version of that pattern. 

You're really gonna love a close up of the print. FEATHERS!  Heather likes feathers cause she likes to rhyme all the time.

I'm not firing on full brain power today so a proper review of this pattern will have to wait. The quick and dirty details are something like this.
 I traced a combo Med/Large and lengthened the sleeves about 5".  The fit was very roomy and the neckline a little too wide for my taste.  Having your shirt falling off your shoulders is all well and good if you're not running after a toddler most of your day. My fabric choice was also not the best for the intended fit. It has no drape and hung like a big sack like bad plus sized clothing.

Good news is that we can always make things smaller. I disassembled the shirt and cut it down to a size small, except for the hem circumference which stayed a large.  Finally I put a renfrew hem band on the bottom, perfect!  Better review later I promise.