Kwik Sew 3968, Slipper Socks

I have very cold feet and have one particular pair of fleece socks that I like to wear to bed in the winter.  I haven't found another pair of commercial socks that I like as much, and the socks I like were a gift many years ago so I can't get more of that particular one.  I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands, using Kwik Sew 3968.





These socks are well-drafted and easy to sew.  The notches line up perfectly--as you can see on the pattern as drafted at left--and you can cut and sew a pair in well under half an hour.










That's the good news.  The bad news is that the symmetrical draft that makes them so easy to cut, sew, and grab a pair to put on any-which-way makes them too uncomfortable for anyone to wear.  They flap around in a way that made me feel unstable.  If you want socks strictly for sitting on the couch or going to bed, they will be fine.  But if you'd like to pad around the house at all, you will need to make them conform to the non-symmetrical shape of the foot.





You can see that the first pair gives me major duckfoot.  They felt very floppy on the feet, like they'd fall off at any second.  The last thing I want to do when I'm hanging around at home is think about whether or not my socks are falling off!

I sewed the first pair up as drafted, then put them on with the seam allowances in the outside and pinned out the extra along the inner arch of the foot, as well as at the ankle.  Then I altered the pattern to fit the foot.



The altered pattern makes a great pair of lounging socks.  They conform to the shape of the foot and passively stay in place.







Be warned that if you are going to alter the width around the ankle, you definitely need a stretch fleece. I thought all fleece would have adequate stretch, but with a pair I made out of a less stretchy fleece I had a hard time pulling the narrow ankle over my foot.











You can't make fleece socks attractive, but it amused me to try.  I love that they have the female model on the envelope with her feet in a "sexy" pose.  I wish they had shown her face, because I'd love to see the expression on it.  "All these years of calf raises and pedicures, and *this* is where my foot model career ends up?!"

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.


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As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been able to find much time for blogging lately.  Well, then things really got hard.  If you can spare any good thoughts for my dad, I'd really appreciate it.  He appears to be on the mend now (but it has been a rollercoaster for the past month and I don't want to get complacent).  There will be a lot of going back and forth to Texas and not a lot of blogging for the foreseeable future.

Burda 09-2011-128, Theory Deronisa Blouse

Source: ssense.com via Trena on Pinterest

I don't wear too many blouses, and I'm not sure why.  I think part of it is that a very traditional collar-with-stand blouse just isn't interesting enough for me!  It makes me feel too cookie-cutter lawyer-y (even though none of my co-workers dress like that either).

However, Burda publishes some interesting variations on the theme, including this Burda 09-2011-128.  I don't know that it struck me at the time, but when I was doing some snoop shopping last year I ran across the Theory "Deronisa" blouse, $200 and available in various colors.  I remembered this pattern and could see the possibilities in it more.

This was sort of a wearable muslin--made with fabric from Robin's swap party!--intended to see if the pattern would be nice for a silk with long sleeves (redrafting the shoulder to remove the extension.  I think it will work, though it is (mostly) past long sleeve weather so it will probably be a project for next Fall.





My main alteration to this was to add a CB seam and back darts.  It would otherwise be fairly shapeless, though to give Burda credit the Deronisa blouse is rather shapeless as well.  I used my basic woven pullover top to get the shape of the back seam and the darts.  Makes life so easy!


I did not do anything for an SBA.  I thought I might end up needing to narrow the front pleats, but I don't feel that this is excessively large over the bust. 


Made by Evyline did an excellent photo tutorial on the unusual collar construction.  I won't repeat her work--definitely check it out if you plan to make this.


 Just to pique your interest, the collar is in the back only. The front extends past the back bodice, drafted in a length to meet the collar, so the blouse is a consistent height from the front to the back. I think it's a great way to get the extra formality/crispness of a collar without being too much.  The front darts are rotated into the neckline pleats.






You first stitch the outer collar in place, then finish it by stitching the inner collar over it.  Be sure to fold under the seam allowance of the inner collar before pinning it in place so it will be neatly tucked under when turned to the inside.



You can see that rather than radically trim the side seam of the collar, I left it pretty wide and focused on turning it inward to create a neat corner.  I find that when I clip very close to the seams on collars, it is actually harder for me to get a sharp point than if I clip the long edge close and leave the short edge longer and concentrate on folding the SA in and pressing in place.



Here's what the collar looks like on the outside when it's finished.  Feel free to observe my truly horrendous attempt at stitching in the ditch.  I never stitch in the ditch; this is why.  Next time I would probably either topstitch, or more likely hand stitch the inner collar to the SA.



I finished the armscyes with bias tape before sewing the side seams, mostly because I am really lazy about measuring bias tape and the opening it's meant to finish to get an exact length.  I don't know that this was the best method; at the very least, I should have extended the bias tape 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the fashion fabric on each end.

My house made (to pretend that we are at a fancy bistro) bias tape is too wide.  I may need to go in and trim it, leaving a raw edge because it folds under on itself and threatens to show.








It is drafted CRAZY long.  There is also a dress length for this pattern.  There is no indication the shirt is meant to be a tunic but that's about the length they have marked for the blouse hem.  I ended up shortening it by 5 inches.











I keep talking about all the sloppy things I did in making this (and while we're on the subject, the hem is totally crooked), but actually for the most part I think it is quite well done, if I do say so myself.  The pleats came out sharp, and the front facing finish is crisp.  The corners of the collar are not *perfectly* flush with the front, but pretty darn close.

I like the blouse a lot, but I'm not crazy about the shape of the armscye.  It just sits a little weird.  I don't know how much of that is related to my extra-wide bias tape and crisp fabric, though.  I am definitely interested in making the pattern again.

I've paired it here the my Burda 09-2008-108 skirt, in wool with a lace overlay.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Burda 09-2007-101: I Keep My Promises

So remember the fabric orgy that was November for me?  With the glorious trip to Fabric Mart?  (Not to mention the trip to NYC.)  This lovely paisley print rayon challis ($5.99/yd) is one of the fabrics I bought on that trip, and I promised to make it into Burda 09-2007-101 at my earliest convenience.


























Well, I did.  I can't remember exactly when--sometime late December or early January.  I don't have anything to add to my blog post of the two earlier versions of this blouse, so this is just to show that I really do sew (some) of that fabric I buy.



I only thing did a couple things slightly differently.  I put a simple hem into the sleeve, rather than gather it with elastic as prescribed by the pattern.  I wondered if it would annoy me or be weird, but other than looking like I have no hands from the back, I actually like it quite a bit.  It's not a top for doing too many dishes in, though.

I raised the neckline up another inch, and instead of having it tie I stitched a separate loop of fabric to center front that the ends pull through for a mock tie, as I did for Simplicity 2305, which reduces the weight significantly so the CF isn't pulled down.


It's a nice match for both the green wool Burda 11-2009-120 skirt--though I am dissatisfied with the length and am going to have to rip out all that topstitching on the inverted pleats, again, to shorten it, again.  It's juuuuuust barely acceptable with boots, but absolutely cannot be worn with any other footwear.  It's a good skirt and I'd like to get more wear out of it in Spring and Fall.









I also like it with the Burda 01-2008-127 mustard ponte skirt, for a different look with the fitted bottom.

The rayon was easy to sew.  I'm always nervous about the durability of rayon, so I sewed it with French seams.  So far it's holding up, but with my, ahem, deep closet it only got a few wears this season.



All photos are here and the pattern review of the previous versions is here.

Variations on a Tee # 7: Half Spiral Sleeve

I am way behind in blogging.  I actually made this top in the nick of time for Jungle January!

The variation on this tee is that I used the sleeve from Burda 01-2013-119.  A while back on Pinterest I saw these Handmade by Carolyn spiral leggings.  I was fascinated, and loved the way they draped.  I vowed to use the idea for a sleeve eventually.  Well, lo and behold January's Burda arrived with the pattern already drafted for me.  I would still like to do a full spiral eventually, but I am in love with this sleeve.




The Burda pattern is a raglan sleeve tee, but it was very easy to transfer this feature to my set-in sleeve block.  I traced the sleeve head onto tissue, and then set the tissue on the Burda tracing sheet.  I lined up the underarm corners of the sleeve patterns, ignored the raglan sleeve head, and traced down the body of the sleeve.  The raglan sleeve was a bit wider than my set-in sleeve, so I just sort of centered my sleeve over the raglan pattern and blended.  The photos of this process were useless, because of the maze of Burda tracing sheets.

The sleeve was long for me, so I folded out 1 1/2 inches of length.  It was still pretty long and the next time I made it I shortened it a little more.

It is very hard to get a picture of your own arm.   Hopefully the photos give you some sense of what this looks like!



















The sleeve is easy to construct.

First, sew the gathered seam, starting it with a little dart.   I serged the seam first, then used the sewing machine to put the dart in the top.





Next, I gathered the seam using clear elastic.  I threaded the elastic through my buttonhole foot and then pulled is as taut as I could while stitching it over the seam.

That's it.  From here on out you treat the sleeve as you would any other.














This sweaterknit ($4.99/yd from Fabrics 4 Less in NYC last November) is lightweight and a little difficult to handle.  In order to turn up the hem with a minimum of drama, I fused a strip of knit interfacing to the hem allowance before turning it up.  Although the interfacing has some stretch, it doesn't stretch nearly as much as the fabric.  However, since the hem is the widest part of the top, the lack of stretch is not a problem.







I finished the neckline with foldover elastic.  I sewed the first pass using a zigzag, then folded the elastic over to the front.

I used the blind hem foot as a stitch guide, clicking the needle to the right to stitch juuuuust along the edge of the FOE.  The result is awesome!

I'm still working on the proper proportion of FOE to neckline.  1:1 results in a saggy neckline.  I think here I did it 80% as long as the neckline.  However, with my lightweight fabric it took a bit more than I wanted and raised the neckline to slightly higher than I would prefer.








This sleeve is just awesome.  I've always liked the look of ruched sleeves, but they can just be too much fabric.  This gives the look without the bulk.  There is not a big bunch of gathering at the wrist to get dragged through dishwater, and it doesn't do weird things under a coat.  I've used it on another tee since and am sure it will show up for years to come!


Have I mentioned in the last five minutes how much I *love* having a TNT tee that will be the perfect fit and the perfect length right off the tissue?  Love.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.





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You know how hard it is to find time to sew after work and taking care of everything else?  So does The Onion.  The linked article is uncomfortably dead-on, in the most amusing kind of way (disclaimer:  I actually like my job).

I have been feeling really pressed for time lately, and I really don't know why.  I've been getting more responsibility at work, but it hasn't required me to work extra hours.  I do spend a lot more time *thinking* about work outside of work.  Nothing else has changed.  It's not clear why this change is causing me to feel the strain.  At any rate, it has been affecting my blogging and I apologize for being a bit scarce lately.  I'm not going to pressure myself to "produce"--this is my hobby!  So I will probably continue to be scarce for a while and hopefully will eventually get over whatever this is.  I've still been sewing a lot and have a large backlog of projects to share.

A Visit to the Cherry Blossoms

I will apologize in advance for having no sewing nexus here!  The weather turned unexpectedly hot and I didn't have anything new to wear to the cherry blossoms this year.  I didn't have a photographer with me, either, and the photo I asked a stranger to take barely shows the dress I was wearing (my Burda 06-2008-108 shirtdress with a cherry blossom-evocative print).



Even without a new dress, I wouldn't miss the cherry blossoms!

I visited after work on Monday, and got there just about sunset.  I loved this venerable old tree.







We had an unusually cold Spring, so the blossoms--which were originally forecast for peak bloom on March 25, because of our mild winter--were still not quite there when I visited on Monday.




I shared my blossom experience from people all over the world, everyone drinking them in and trying to get the best shots.  This one was a first for me:  a pet photo shoot.  This impeccably-groomed dog  was having none of sitting on the black-covered pedestal and posing decoratively under the blossoms.  None of it.  I do not know if the second dog in the picture was waiting his turn, or just a bystander.







Every year I'm surprised that this dead tree has survived a culling.  Its bare branches do make for a wonderful photo op, though.  Here I waited for the duck to paddle to just the right spot before snapping the photo.





The Washington Monument is getting covered in scaffolding to finally repair the damage from our Great DC Earthquake of 2011 (I use this ironically--I grew up in Southern California and while it was certainly strong enough to feel, it was not a big earthquake).  The scaffolding has its own charm.











There is nothing more picturesque than blossoms and water!














A kind stranger took my photo.  The lighting was bad, but the flash version of the photo was terrifying. Luckily, I was not the star of this show.









As the sun went down I headed home.  Can't wait for next year's!

All photos are here.