Tags
2017, butterick, challenge, colette, cotton, craftybitch, fabric, imakemyownclothes, isew, linen, makenine, michaelmiller, newlook, patterns, scrubs, sewist, soseweasy, starwars
How did I do on the #makenine2017 project? Not too shabby I have to say. I made more than nine things for myself this year! However two items were work related so I am not sure they count towards this challenge. My plan definitely evolved through out the year, but let’s start at the beginning shall we?
Original plan:
My plan was a little heavy with six dresses. I don’t wear dresses on a regular basis so I omitted two dresses within a month of starting the project.I also had my fill of sheer fabrics early in the year so I also decided against the cold shoulder top.
I started all three dresses on the top row but had limited success in finishing them. The retro butterick pattern gave me huge fit problems in the bodice. It basically needs re-drafted to fit my shoulders, waist and to have the darts in the right locations for me. I have the skirt completed along with a lining for it since I made it out of a vintage light colored linen. I hit the web to look for some help on this pattern and then seriously got frustrated as it seems I am the oddball who doesn’t fit this pattern out of the package. There are so many beautiful versions out there and I am struggling to complete mine because of fit issues!
The second pattern gave me some new techniques to work on, French seams on shear flimsy fabrics. I pulled some fabrics out of the stash for the two dresses I cut out for the short version of this dress. I am at the last few steps to complete the first dress but stalled out at making bias tape out of the sheer overlay fabric. This seems like a huge headache of a task that I have not summoned the will power to complete.
The third dress in the top row is cut out and ready to be put together. I was hoping to work on it over Christmas but I did not find the time.
All three patterns of the second row where removed from the plan.
I made the skirt from the first pattern of the third row. It came together nicely and I can wear it to work. I am not sure I used the best fabric for it but I liked the colors in it. Yes, I know, I need to work on taking photos actually wearing the garments.
I cut out the second pattern on the bottom row out of crushed velvet I had in the stash. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the pattern pieces all fit in the abundance of scrap pieces I had along with the yardage. The flair of the skirt makes the pieces wide and almost trumpet like. I purchased this fabric awhile ago and while it can still be found on Joann’s shelves it is definitely not the same color and texture. So I am still pondering how to make this work.
The last pattern on the third row didn’t get started but I did purchase fabric for it from fabric.com.
It kinda looks like I botched this challenge right? But here are the things I did make this year.
Mccall’s legging pattern. I feel like I should do a full review of this pattern as it is not so straight forward as it seems. A spandex fabric is crucial to making this pattern fit correctly. I made the basic leggings in an R2-D2 jersey to go along with my lularoe knock off top.
I found this beautiful striped linen that has some sparkly threads in it on the clearance rack that I had to have. I bought everything that was left on the bolt but I really wanted to make something out of it instead of it going into the stash. I picked the burda style 6735 and I thought I had enough fabric to squeak out version b. I lengthened the legs a little bit so they are closer to the knee. In doing this I didn’t have enough fabric to keep the pockets running in the same direction as the shorts so the pattern runs up and down on one side of the pockets and the other side runs left to right. You can’t see the pockets unless you try really hard so I don’t mind this very much. Plus I used up almost every inch of fabric.
Self drafted raglan tops
I hemmed a lularoe top for a friend. I never much considered the raglan top before and I did not have any in my wardrobe. But the shirt looked insanely comfortable. So I drafted a pattern and started whipping up a few. I will be shortening the body of the shirt a few inches for future makes but I am pretty happy with how they turned out.
On my second top I also made a matching head band. These tops also created a learning curve on using two different weights of knits on the same garment and some things to considering when planning other knit projects.
I have been eyeing some of the Colette patterns for awhile now, and I was really excited to hear that they offered the Sorbetto top pattern for free. The pdf pattern came together nicely and the instructions were easy to follow and complete. I made the tank version but I may need to make a sleeved version as well.I used a Michael Miller fabric from the koi collection.
New Look 6512 – Version D
This pattern had a lot of pieces to it. Because of that it didn’t sew up quickly for me. It spent a bit of time in pieces until I could pick it back up. But overall I am happy with the finished top. I just wish I had a Disney trip planned to wear it to.
Over at So sew easy they did an active wear summer series. She has some really great projects and she shared her patterns for free! So I tried out the racer back tank this summer. I wasn’t sure what the fit would be like on me so I made a size small in the watercolor print and a medium in the festive patriotic print. Both sizes fit me a little strangely in the shoulders so I may need to adjust the pattern if I make anymore. I wore these tops pretty much right after they were done. They were hanging up until I took these photos and the hem line has become distorted. So the patriotic print in particular needs re-hemmed. Does anyone have a list of fabrics that should hang for a bit before hemming so I avoid this problem again?
Scrub Tops
I don’t know if these should count for my make nine, but I am going to include them anyways. I use a modified pattern off of a commercially bought pattern. It was one of the first patterns I purchased and I failed to realize it was a plus sized pattern. So using a store bought scrub top and this pattern I resized the pattern to right amount of baggie I like in my scrubs.
That’s it! I am pleased with my personal sewing this year. I got a lot more done than I thought I could. This challenge also made me aware of my wardrobe and assessing my wardrobe is key to making things I will wear and not just multitudes of pretty dress I may only wear once.
Who is taking part in make nine next year?