Tag Archives: 2014 makes

It seems like the rest of the blog world is finally discovering the awesomeness of the Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt. I made this one up at the end of last summer and this skirt immediately became a wardrobe staple for me. It’s the View B length.

SIZING

Hollyburn is a Sewaholic Pattern which means it’s designed for pear shapes..which I definitely am not! However it was very easy to tweak the pattern to accommodate my lack of a waist. When sewing pants or skirts Sewaholic patterns you definitely want to pick a size that fits your hips and then adjust the waist. Waist adjustments are generally the easiest. In my case my hips fit a 16 but my waist was bigger.

ADJUSTMENTS

I figured out the difference and used the slash and spread technique to make the waist larger. In order to calculate this you need to take the difference, let’s say 2″, and divide that by 4 to get 1/2″. This is how much will need to be added to the front and back skirt pieces to get a total of 4″. This does slightly distort the half circle shape but with such a small adjustment it’s not noticeable. You’ll also need to add to the waistband. This is cut on the fold so just add half of your waist difference (2″/2 = 1″) to the end of the waistband piece. If anyone is interested in seeing how this was done, leave a comment and I will do a post with some photos.

I’ll let you in on a secret. I was lazy when I made my adjustments and only added to the front pieces. See how my side seams and pockets are too far back? Oops. Don’t worry – I fixed this on my next version 🙂

FABRIC & FINISHES

The fabric for this skirt is a lightweight denim I picked up at Joann. To keep with the denim look I used a jeans zipper on the back. I like seeing the slightly exposed brass zipper. I finished all of the seams with self-made bias strips and a Hong Kong seam finishes.

STYLING

This a style that requires tucked in or cropped shirts. I’ve found that leaving something untucked just looks frumpy as it squashes down all the fullness around your middle. I’ve been thinking I need to make some Closet Case Files Nettie bodysuits to wear with this skirt! In the meantime I wear it with my silk Tucker blouses for work and with slim fitting JCrew t-shirts or tank tops for more casual settings.

I think this skirts has a slightly 70’s vibe that works great with chunky platforms or sandals. View C is a shorter flirty version that would be very contemporary and festivalwear-like in a girly floral print.

Reasons I love this skirt:

Fit n Flare style makes me look like I have a waist
Great pockets
Dressed up denim works with everything from fancy silk blouse (in my photos) to a basic tee or tank
Easy to follow pattern

Reasons to not love this skirt:

Waistband can be a little constricting. I think I wear too many knits these days and expect everything to be stretchy and comfortable
Adjustments needed to make waist fit. (This is expected with a Sewaholic Pattern).

Save some $$$

One last note on this pattern. It’s based on the lovely Sewaholic Lonsdale dress. I own both patterns so I compared the skirt pieces and they are totally identical! So if you like the Lonsdale too, just buy that pattern and you can make both! All you’ll need to do is make your own rectangular waistband pattern piece, which you can base off of the one on the Lonsdale.

Chevron Baby Quilt

posted by lorene

on 05.08.2015

Since everyone is having babies these days I’m making lots of quilts! I made this quilt for one of my besties who lives in Germany. I wanted to get it done before Christmas so I could pass it along to her mother to deliver it for me. The last quilt I had to ship to Europe cost $50 to mail!

Almost done hand sewing the binding on!

Making a chevron quilt has been on my to do list for awhile and I really like the ones with white stripes. So all I had to do was find some fabric. Since I’m lazy I went for a charm pack. I knew it was a boy but I dislike things that very gender specific, so I ended up buying The Boat House by Sweetwater for Moda. I needed 2 charm packs because the chevron blocks required 2 squares. I was also super lazy and got a Kona white charm block. Yay for precuts!

Chevron blocks are super easy to make. It’s just a bunch of half-square triangles. Although if I made another I’d definitely invest in one of these nifty Half Square Triangle Rulers, that my sister Natalie only told me about when I was almost done.

Magi says “I’m not sure this navy polka dot block should go here.”

For my block layout I was trying to get an ombre effect as from red to navy. My cat Magi was super helpful in figuring this out.

Is it too late to shorten my last name to Vosky?

One of my special touches on my baby quilts is a hand embroidered quilt label that I sew into the corner of the quilt backing. Whenever I do one of these I wish my last name wasn’t 11 characters long. 🙂

I totally forget what the name of this fabric is, but the lady at Modern Domestic was brilliant in suggesting this. I had something totally different in mind when she pulled this one out and I instantly knew it was perfect. The design and colors totally complement the quilt front. I forget your name but thanks!

My other cat, Cleo, was also very helpful in the making of this quilt. Her she’s keeping my lap warm while I hand sew the binding. On a side note, Cleo loves hanging out under blankets. Every morning she greets me by trying snuggle up under the comforter. It’s adorable.

Cat Dream Archer

posted by lorene

on 11.10.2014

I’ve been wanting to make an Archer for awhile, but I’ve realized that I really hate pdf patterns. They are a pain to put together and store. I was recently on Grainline Studio’s site and I noticed she had a preorder for a paper Archer pattern. Woohoo!

Around the same time MissCrayolaCreepy posted about the Cat Lady Sewing Challenge. So it seemed like a good time to sew a cat-shirt! There are a lot of cute/kitschy cat prints out there, but I’ve realized I rarely actually wear clothing I make with that sort of print. Then I came across the Cat Dream fabric from Lizzy House, which is still pretty cute but in my eyes a little more sophisticated and wearable.

So one of the big reasons I wanted to make a shirt is that I’ve never owned a button down shirt that didn’t gap around the bust. Now that I’m an FBA-pro I wanted to try my hand at getting a really well fitting shirt. I did all my pattern adjustments using the Palmer Pletsch method, which lead to a 1″ FBA. With the print on this fabric you can barely see the darts. But look…I can raise my arms and no button gap! Hallelujah!!

The rear view is pretty good too! I made no modifications. On big 4 sometime I do 3/4″ broad back adjustment.

The one thing I’m not too sure about is the shoulder width. Where is a shirt like this supposed to hit you? I have a feeling it might be a smidge to wide in the shoulders.

My only outstanding fitting issue is the sleeves. The upper arm fits fine, but the lower cuff is ridiculously wide. I didn’t check this until after I sewed the cuff on and at the point I wasn’t changing it. So I ended up sewing my cuff buttons almost 2″ over from the button marking! The sleeves are also about 2″ too long so I will make both the length and width adjustments on my next version.

None of my cat shirt + cat photos came out great, but I had to include at least one with a kitty! Here’s my little monkey named Magi. I also have a black cat names Cleo. I couldn’t find my camera remote, so I had 10 seconds to hit the shutter, grab a cat, and get in the shot. So apologies that we both look a little weird!

Colette Myrtle Dress

posted by lorene

on 07.20.2014

I picked up the newly released Myrtle dress pattern from Colette this week from Modern Domestic and I couldn’t wait to sew! I love cowl necks! I’m full busted and a nice draped cowl makes the ladies look good.

I’ve had this Italian jersey in my stash for ages. I just couldn’t find the right project for it since it has some gold lurex stripes and is a bit sheer. So I needed something with a lining that wasn’t too casual and Myrtle was perfect. The front of the bodice is cut as a single piece and folded to make the lining. The entire bodice construction is rather clever.

Even though there are some new techniques in this pattern – it’s still quick and easy. Just be sure to read the instructions thoroughly before starting. I ended up sewing the waistband casing to the skirt and the bodice and it took me over 2 hours to rip out that seam! I think I spent less time on cutting and sewing the rest of the dress. I also learned that the stretch stitch on my machine is bitch to get out and I will probably stick with a narrow zigzag from here out.

I ended up using 3 different sewing machines for this project – sewing, serger, and my new coverstitch! A regular sewing machine is necessary for part of the pocket construction and creating the elastic waistband casing. Otherwise I used my serger for most seams and my coverstitch for the back neck, armhold and lower hems. That works like a dream!

Pattern: Colette Myrtle Dress – View 1
Fabric: 3 yards of Italian Cotton Jersey. Extra was needed for matching stripes.
Modifications: Added 1.5″ to shoulder width to create slight cap sleeve