Fast Fashion Summer Essentials: Floral Cowl Neck Tee

I love sewing this cowl neck tee shirt.  I've made it four or five times now. It's a quick sew and dependable. I also like the look of it with my rose embellished denim straight skirt - which photo'd a little dark here. The details of the skirt show up a little better in this post - actually the skirt looks blue in the other posting ! - but the dark color above is more true to life.

Sewing Summer Essentials - Singing the Blues Tee

My newly created Singing the Blues Tee Creation

I'll work for you.
I'll slave for you.
I'll be a begger, or a knave for you.
If that isn't love, it will have to do.
Until the real thing comes along!

Billie Holiday knew how to sing the blues! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday

 I'm continuing to work with the tee shirt pattern I drafted from the moulage I created in my French Pattern Drafting class. Who can't use another comfortable, pretty, feel good tee over the summer?

  

Sewing summer essentials keeps me from 

feeling blue,

 even when I find myself singing them.

Enchanted By Sewing Audio Podcast - Episode 32 - Parlez Vous French Pattern Drafting ? http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2015/05/ench-by-sew-32-parlez-vous-french.html 

My Damson Plum Private Eye Tee, was the first shirt I made from my tee pattern - http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/04/damson-plumm-private-eye-nibbled-that.html 

Romancing the Dress - Periwinkle Blue Anjelica Cotton Knit Cutie

Laurel in Anjelica at San Francisco Legion of Honor

Did You Make That? 

Yep!

I 'm pretty pleased with this new periwinkle blue cotton knit dress I sewed, using one of the many  patterns included in my recently purchased  Famous Frocks: The Little Black Dress: Patterns for 20 Garments Inspired by Fashion Icons. I'm pretty cautious about buying books with included patterns (what if I only like one?) , but I find the entire book very inspirational, and I'm envisioning sewing several of the other dresses.

This romantically styled frock is the "Anjelica Jolie" dress. I used the darts and no-sleeve styling from the top variation, and the straight of grain and cotton knit from the dress version. I tried wearing a narrow belt at the true waist, but it looked awful on me - it just didn't suit my H-shaped figure. Also I think, maybe, it's too blousy at the top to suit a woman with more bust if it's belted too low. Emphasizing the bosom with a wide belt worn just below the bust line looks better. Sometimes I just have to try every belt and waistline in my wardrobe to get it right. This is the belt I created for my peaches and cream shirtwaist dress. It's 3 inch wide black elastic with a simple slider no-tongue belt buckle.

I felt very Cinderlla-ish wearing this dress to the San Francisco Legion of Honor museum this last week, especially since I was going to see a fashion exhibit, High Style, The Broklyn Museum Costume Collection. I got a nice compliment from the young woman who rented the audio head set. She liked it that I had dressed up for the exhibit. I enjoyed that being dressed up feeling, and I was really comfortable too. I'm thinking this light frock will be nice for travel, what do you think?

Yes, this book is inspiring me to make more. I've already begun making a muslin for the princess-seamed Princess Diana sheath dress and I have my eyes on the Grace Kelly dress, based on one she wore, and I loved, in the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rear Window. Do you remember the scene towards the end, where Lisa (Grace) hides her Vogue magazine inside a very studious looking hardback book to fake Jimmy Stewart into thinking she's getting serious about important issues?

If I sew each of these, that's three patterns. I interested in trying the variations on them as well - some of which aren't typical of what you'd find in a pattern envelope. I'm going to try the top variation for this Anjelica pattern (in a woven) as well. I'm attracted to a couple of the other patterns, particularly the Coco Channel jersey dress, in the sleeveless variation. My guess is that I'll be sewing at least half the patterns in the book, if not more.

One thing I found great about using patterns from this book,versus buying an individual pattern, is that there  is an extensive part of the book that covers sewing techniques. These are different than just following directions from a pattern instruction sheet, because they help me to better develop my overall sewing skills, and I'm not blindly following steps that I might not understand. Once I've used two or three of these patterns, the cost of the book compares favorably with the purchase of the same number of pattern (even with pattern discounts), and the educational sewing skill-building advantage makes it worth more to me, than buying those individual patterns.

                               

Quick (?) Sew: Floral-Velour, Cowl Neck Knit Top (M6078)

I've still got some work to do on my latest version of McCalls 6078.

Pretty though, don't you think?

It's always so interesting working with knits. I really have to think about drape and fit on each unique project. Once more I'm needing to take in and reshape the side seams. It's a relatively quick sew, but not just zip-zap and she's done. Still need to put a little extra thought and time into it.

This is a remnant leftover from my V8323 Katherine Tilton Princess Laurel Tee. Since I've worked with this fabric before and found it not to be super stretchy or fluid, I would have expected not to need to alter the fit at the side seams. But that is just not the case! Right now I've got the sides safety-pinned and I plan to double check that I'm happy with the fit before I stitch them up. I also still have all the edge finishing to do (armhole, neck and hem).

Yup I'm looking forward to wearing this cutey. She's the kinda sorta-quick project that keeps me....

Enchanted by Sewing!
Project UPdate

I'm so glad I got my floral velour cowl neck tee done in time for my sewing day with my buddy Susan out Discovery Bay way (that's in the San Francisco Bay delta). Is there anything better than having a new thing you made yourself, to wear when you get together with a buddy? Boy, did we have fun! Can't wait for our next meetup. I interviewed her too and will be using that interview in this month's Enchanted by Sewing audio podcast. And thanks for taking all those photos Susan, so I could get the perfect one 

Terminado! My Princess Laurel Tee

There's more about my experiences sewing this tee in this month's December audio/podcast, Enchanted by Sewing - Festive Holiday Tees and Tea (#27)

Hoping to get another photo where the center of the shirt 
doesn't pull up on me! It isn't really THAT fitted.
I've been wearing this princess seam tee quite a lot for a week (layered)

I call this my "Princess Laurel" tee because

1) It's named after myself

2) It has princess seams

3) When I was little, my older sister Trisha kept me entertained with stories about her flights to Treasure Land. Apparently she went there every night after I went to sleep. She had a magic plastic comb with genuine diamels that she used to transport herself! One day she brought me a pair of shoes decorated with sequins, that looked, oddly enough, like my old slippers that had gone missing! In Treasure Land, amazingly, there were two princess that looked exactly like us - Princess Laurel and Princess Trisha!

I was a true believer in Treasure Land, and begged her to take me along one night. She promised she would when I was a little older, but I think the comb was lost when we moved and I never got to go.

This floral velour tee shirt is named in honor of the royal garments that Princess Laurel once wore, 

I really like wearing this Katherine Tilton  Vogue 8323, princess-seamed, very fitted, tee shirt. I made this first version in a floral velour (I think that's what it is - the fabric was a freebie from donations made at school), that I think is probably mostly polyester with some spandex. I've been wearing the shirt over a pale pink turtleneck or a black turtleneck, as it's not very warm. It looks pretty without them though, and I look forward to getting a photo of those.

I embellished the shoulder seams with
pale rose glass beads and twists of fabric

I added some pink glass buttons and twists of fabric on the shoulder seams, for fun embellishments. Isn't it great sewing your own clothes and doing stuff like that? Impromptu embellishments like that are just one of many things that keeps me, enchanted by sewing!

The pattern work was harder than I thought - getting the fit lines to mirror my body. I've found that my dress form Conchita is pretty good for getting basic fit areas, but when it comes to absolutely fitted, nothing beats putting the garment on my own body and checking it out in the bathroom mirror (or with a buddy like the day Susan H came and she marked all over the inside for me). One thing I learned was, not to make the adjustments to the princess seams permanent before I added the sleeves! The sleeves pull the fabric back, over and all which ways. Baste, Baste, Baste!  Oh, I had some fun with Auntie Seamah Rippah and all the seams I thought were ready for regular stitching but really weren't!

I employing my lesson about basting while making another plain red version of this tee, which I look forward to blogging about. It's almost done. Of course being a different piece of knit - a kind of fluid interlock, the red knit had to be taken in a little more. And of course the self-fabric neckband had/has to be fit differently.

Getting the neckband on this floral version in right such that it didn't gap and wasn't too tight was a real challenge. I basted a lot with pins and by hand. I also laid it over my duct tape dummy (remember Helen?) to get a sense of how the neckline would fall on my actual body. Boy, no neckband is the same.

Also I think since this neckline mostly curves at the center, then shoots up almost straight, I think the trick is a slight stretch on the curvy center part, then less stretch as it goes up. 
Great tee. I have fabric for a few others that I hope to make soon, while the alterations and fit challenges are fresh in mind. Also I just love the way it looks on, so I want more!

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

My Early Pattern Work on V8323 http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/10/princess-seamed-tee-shirt-pattern-work.html

http://www.katherinetilton.com

Spinning Straw Into Gold - My Rumpelstiltskin Cowl Neck Knit Top (McCalls 6078)

My  Rumpelstiltskin Straw-Into-Gold Top looks best tucked in!

Oh I love wearing this straw-into-gold wool jersey top! Yes, you're right. The longer hem that worked for my polka dot cowl, is too long for this fluid wool jersey. I may hem it shorter, but I've ended up tucking it in most of the time anyway. What a difference the hand of a fabric makes, eh?

Do you recall a few weeks back, when I finished my reworked Retro Polka Dot cowl-neck knit top? I'm just starting to buildup my pattern wardrobe of tried-and-true patterns, and I love having a pattern I can turn to late one night, and finish off before breakfast.

I pulled out my version of M6078 (the version I traced, altered and know fits me) and a light weight, gauzy , golden wool jersey knit from my fabric inventory one night last week, and the next day I had a great new top to wear. I didn't stay up late making it either:-)

I can spin straw into gold.  I know just how that German gal  in the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale felt. You remember her? She was the one-time commoner who found a husband by practicing her domestic skills with her spindle and a hunk of straw.*   

This is already proving to be a great top for our not too cold, California cool season. It's good under a long sleeved top, or on it's own. I can wear it with jeans, a denim skirt or my brown stretch-velvet jeans. And yes, I'm tucking it in :-)

I'm so ready to make more. Sewing tried-and-true is the kind of thing that keeps me . . . 

Enchanted by Sewing!

* Honey, I highly recommend a degree in Computer Science as a better option.

Web Resources

My Retro Polka Dot Knit Top  (also blogged about as "Why I don't love Lucy") http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/11/terminado-retro-polka-cowl-neck-knit.html
Who's Rumpelstiltskin? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpelstiltskin

Terminado! Retro Polka Cowl Neck Knit Top (M6078)

Hey! I got that remake of my retro-style polka dot knit top finished!

It's McCalls M6078.

I blogged about my experiences altering this pattern, and sharing my attitudes towards I Love Lucy:-) in  Reworking a Retro Style Polka Dot Tee

I've been focusing more on wardrobing in my sewing. (How about those red accents!) I talk about wardrobing and my pattern alteration experiences, in the October episode of my Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast. 

Fitting the Tee - Every Knit is Different - Duct Tape Dress Form

What do I love most?
 The embroidered hummingbirds?
The under-bust tucks?
The fringy bits I created from knit scraps?
The deconstructed neckline?

I've been squeezing in a little time here and a little time there on this simple rose pink tee with the embroidered hummingbirds. It's been one of those life-is-sometimes-like-that times. Bet you know how that goes :-)

It's a funny thing, I'm using a tee pattern I've altered in the past and sewn several times, but this time through the tee just didn't hang right on me. I'm so glad Lori addressed the variable character of knits so many times in different Sew Forth Now podcasts. Now I know it's not just me who has these challenges. You just never know with knits, they each have their own drape and stretch.

In this case, I admit that I was working with a very flimsy knit. I cut this shirt out of two rose pink commercial tee shirts. I keep them around more as muslins then for my regular wardrobe. But.... they were a pretty color and I just wanted a quick tee fix.

That's where the front detail came from. After doing the machine embroidery (I posted about those dragonflies last time) I just didn't love the way the shirt hung, so I added a little hang of my own.

Don't you love that elegant view of the
old newspapers coming out of the neckline of
my Duct Tape Dummy (DTD)?
It's not glamorous, but it helps her keep her shape for now
I'm not worried about filling her up properly, 'cuz
I'm actually taking a Dress Form Making class !
So, no, my little DTD is never going to be properly filled.

Hey, you knew I was going to show off the value of my Duct Tape Dummy again, right?

I first got out my lovely Dummy after I tried on the shirt and found I didn't like the typical fabric neckband. I did the slight stretch and fold over fabric neckband thing and no matter how much or how little I stretched the neckband/trim, the shirt  reminded me of something Beaver Cleaver wore. So I unpinned and unabasted (never commit the stitches till I'm sure!) and created this deconstructed neckband instead. It's simply a strip of black knit I cut off the bottom of another tee and then twisted and pinned, twisted and pinned all the way around. It's actually still pinned (as is the decorative bit in the front) waiting for sometime soon when I get a chance to sit and do a little hand stitching. The under bust strip is the original unsuccessful  neckband (which was shorter than the new deconstructed one), pinned in place over some tucks (or would you call them darts?) I just pulled in place by hand and safety pinned. I twisted that strip in the same way that I did the deconstructed neckband. 

I created the fringed bits in the front  from
- The ends of that strip hanging down
- Additional strips I added in and braided a little bit at the top
- Scraps of the rose pink I bound around that 
- Cutting each strip in half or thirds to make more and thinner pieces
Entonces... Finally I hung onto the top of each strip and pulled on the opposite end to get a longer, narrower rolled , dangly, fringy piece

Filling in the time gaps with my rose and  black tee shirt , adorned with hummingbirds and creative scrap embellishment really keeps me enchanted by sewing.

Tee Time: Spidahhhh (Web).... Rose, I'm home again Rose!

Spidahhhh Web Rose, I'm home again Rose

Without a Sweetheart to My Name

Spidahhh Web Rose, how everyone knooooows,

 That I'm am

Hoping you're the same!

Sung to the tune of "Lyda Rose", of Music Man fame

  You know that song, don't you? 

Here's a great rendition on youTube 

I'm having a good time this evening, catching up on a few sewing journal photographs. I've been pretty busy sewing, and working on the October show for the Enchanted By Sewing Podcast * (not to mention school, work and domestic activities) that I'd gotten behind on displaying some of the pretty things I've created recently. 

It's a lot of fun getting a chance to show off. Personally, I never get tired of that.

I made this boxy tee from 100% cotton interlock knit. We all used the same Qwik Sew pattern, for our first project, in my Fashion 110 sewing at Cañada College. (Note the darts are not original to the pattern, but I wanted a little more shape in that zone.)  I usually sew more fitted tees and I wasn't in love with this tee, until I added the spider-web rose I learned about by watching a Hot Patterns youTube Video. Golly, they have a ton of great technique videos. Thanks Trudy and Jeremy!

It was lovely following through on one of my September goals (I'd mentioned wanting to try this embellishment out in the September Edition of the Enchanted By Sewing podcast), and even lovelier to find that the rose worked great. I've worn this tee quite a number of times since I finished it a few weeks back. 

Of course I've made rather a point of telling people about the embellishment whenever I get a chance. If I don't toot my own horn, who will?

Techniques: I followed Trudy's idea of the radius of 5 large stitches, weaving a rough strand of knit over and under around and around in a circle. However, though Trudy's roses seemed to work fine done loosely, and with (I believe she says) the big wheel of stitches left in place, I needed to do it a little differently. I think that is because I did a tighter, smaller rose. So, I hand stitched the rose (and it's tail - isn't that a darling addition?) in place - everywhere. 

Fabric Stability: Trudy did her spider web roses on the Hot Patterns Cabana tee shirt. I noticed that looked like it provided a kind of stable background for her roses. I got my rose-bearing-oomph from my deep hem. I cut it 3 inches deep (the original pattern has a 1 inch hem), and did 3 rows of stitching for a channel affect as well as some good body and stability.

* You can find this show by searching in the iTunes store using the phrase Enchanted By Sewing. I expect to finish up, and publish the second, October, episode, later this week. The show is monthly and garment themed. The September show was titled Tee Time. October will be Romancing the Dress.

What the Fashion Forward Mermaids are Wearing This Year

Another Project Completed from 

My September Sewing Basket!

I adore this 95%polyester/5% Lycra ruffled, mint-colored fabric I scored at Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkley. That store has a ton of great knits and it's worth making the trip. It helps that there's a BART station nearby (The Ashby Station). I take BART from Millbrae.

I was a little concerned that I might feel like a green marshmallow once the top was done, but it turned out great and made me really happy. And how many tees go with pearls? I feel just like a fashionable mermaid when I wear this ensemble.

The pattern is a many-times altered pattern. It started out with no darts, a higher neckline and a boxier shape. I just keep changing it.

Techniques: Had to take the darts out because the ruffles got caught up and flipped funny. Decided it was much quicker to pin the ruffles in place, when redoing the darts, and sew them by hand. It doesn't take that all long to sew a dart by hand, and is much less frustrating.

I was unsure how to finish the neckband, hems and sleeves until I realized this was the perfect no-edge-sew garment. I stabilized the neckline slightly with tiny hand stitches in silk thread which just happened to match - a spool someone had given me probably twenty years ago! It looks just fine and not at all unfinished.

I put off doing this posting because the photo isn't really very good. Honestly, the shirt looks a lot better than this!