#2017MakeNine - Make Two

So happy to have finally sewn a Jasper!

I promised I'd be back to talk about make number two.  It's my favourite make of the year (Ok - so I've only made four things and two were duds, but let's not focus on that, alrighty?).  For make number two I chose a pattern that I've been wanting to sew since it popped up on Pinterest long before it ever became a pattern.  Of course I'm talking about Paprika Pattern's Jasper Hoodie.

It's a bit ridiculous that it's taken so long to make, but full disclosure here, I was scared of messing up the welt pockets.  I have no idea why.  I've sewn welt pockets before.  I've sewn much harder things than welt pockets before and yet for some reason I was so intimidated.  I can't even tell how many times I bought fabric specifically for Jasper, chickened out of making it and made something else instead.

This time I decided that if it was in my Make Nine choices I was going to use that as my accountability factor and I would have to make it and it worked. And boy am I glad. As I said this is my favourite sewn make and I wear it several times a week.

You might recognize this quilted jersey.  It's from the same collection as the fabric I used for my Sew Over It Heather dress back in the fall.  It's not quite the same though beyond being only one shade of grey instead of having a lighter and darker side.  The other difference is that this one has WAY more stretch than the original fabric.  Knowing that the original fabric didn't have much give I sized up on my Jasper.  I also added a bit of length. Obviously I did not need to worry about sizing up or adding length and my Jasper is a whole lot more relaxed than intended.  No worries though. It's cozy and snuggly and I really love wearing it as is!

As for sewing it?  It really wasn't a problem.  In fact I would say it was pretty easy.  The only tricky part for me was lining up those welts perfectly straight and even that wasn't too arduous a task in the end.  Mine are a smidge off from the seam line, but I'm not going to quibble over such a miniscule amount.

Check out those "not really scary after all" welts!

I do have one tiny little grumble about my Jasper and that is the pocket lining.  It has a nasty habit of curling a bit at the top where it's not attached along the front, which occasionally leaves me with a bit of a lumpy looking line across my midsection.  Have you made Jasper?  Does yours do that?  What did you do about it???  I think I may just tack it down with a bit of hand sewing.  If I ever get around to it that is.  As I said, I wear this several times a week so it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fixing it and it definitely won't stop me from wearing it.

I've been actually feeling a bit down about my sewing lately.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm tired, or if it's just fabric/pattern combos I've chosen or that I'm rushing a bit when I do sew since I always feel I have no time for it anymore.  But having two out of four projects turn out pretty lousy was quite a hit to my confidence so I've taken a bit of break from my machine and focused on my knitting and spinning instead.  The break has done me well and I'm getting some sewing mojo back.  I've even been so bold as to start cutting out my third Make Nine project this evening!

Paprika Patterns Zircon

What seems like forever ago, Lisa of Paprika Patterns generously sent me a copy of their Zircon Sweater/Dress pattern to review.  I was really excited to get a chance to sew it up because the design details really intrigued me.  Then life happened.  And then Christmas happened.  And then more life happened.  And now here it is, the first day of spring, and I'm reviewing a top that I had initially planned as perfect for cozying up in through the long cold winter months.  Oh well.  Depending on your own fabric choices you could easily make this one for whatever season you wanted! So, lets get on with my better late than never review of this versatile pattern from Paprika Patterns!

Zircon, as I mentioned, has a some really neat design details. The geometric shaped yoke and insets look really challenging to sew, but in actual fact are no where near as bad as it would seem. It does take time to achieve nice crisp corners, but if you take that time and go slowly its well worth the effort!  Lisa walks you through it pretty thoroughly in the pattern instructions but if you're still hesitant or struggling, she has a tutorial up on the Paprika Patterns site as well which will guide you through.

Other than the yokes and insets - spoiler alert: the insets for the top are super easy especially since you'll be so practiced on the yokes by the time you do it.  It took me a few minutes and I didn't even use pins at all and they came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself! - the rest of the sewing is very easy to do.

Fit wise I have absolutely no complaints.  I chose a size seven based on my measurements (and previous Paprika Patterns designs) and only added a bit of length to the body for personal preference.  Zircon comes in the usual vast range of sizes for Paprika Patterns - sizes 1-10 or a finished bust of 35" all the way to 50 1/2" and I found it to be right in line with the sizing of the other Paprika Patterns garments I've sewn in the past.  I do really love it when I can trust that a new pattern by a favourite designer is going to give me the same great fit I've come to expect from their previous designs and Lisa does a fantastic job of delivering on this.  I've not been disappointed yet.

For me the biggest challenge of Zircon is fabric choice.  One of my delays was my initial choice of fabric.  As soon as I laid out my pattern pieces on my fabric I realized what a poor choice I'd made.  I was on the fast track to resembling none other than an ill fated Star Trek "red shirt".  Thank goodness I realized it before putting scissors to fabric!  I quickly realized that my next choice was still pretty Star Trek-ish although at least I'd likely live to see another day, unlike the red shirts.  Don't get me wrong.  I am a Star Trek fan to a certain degree, but that does not mean I want to go through life looking like a Star Fleet wannabe.  So, back to the drawing board.  I eventually settled on using a somewhat texturized looking knit for the body and it's plain reverse side for the yoke and inset detail.  I'm not crazy about the fabric, but it's definitely better than my previous plans!

My only slightly negative thought, (and it has nothing to do with the pattern quality at all) is that the neckline feels a touch too high for me.  I've been mulling over this since finishing my top (ok - really I finished it just before lunch and it's only 2pm now, so it's not been a lot of mulling) and I feel that the high feeling neckline is just me and my preferences.  I generally sew/wear tops with a lower scoop or v neck as I find they feel a bit more comfortable and flattering on me, but I'm going to give it some more time to see if it grows on me before I change it up at all. I didn't worry about finishing the edge of the neckline at all, so if I do decide to change it down the road, I won't have to fight with removing serging.

I actually only serged the hem and the sleeves (and of course once I make a decision about the neckline I'll finish it off with some serging too).  The rest of the pattern was easier to just leave the seam allowances as is so as not to add any bulk on the corners.  The stable knit I chose doesn't curl at all at the edges and of course being a knit, it won't fray either, so I wasn't worried about finishing them off.  I just notched all the corners before pressing to get them to lay flat and smooth.  (holy cat hair, Batman!  Fluffy the very annoying feline sewing assistant was sitting on my fabric while I was working on it and it shows.  I guess he felt it the comfiest spot in which to chew on the thread as it passed by.  Damnable cat.  He thinks thread makes the best kitty dental floss ever.  Especially if it's moving through the machine at the time. Aggghhh.  Anyways.  Apologies for the frightening amount of fur in the photo!)

All in all, I give the Zircon Sweater/Dress pattern a two thumbs up and highly recommend it! It'll be a great addition to any wardrobe and depending on fabric choices can take you from season to season.  I feel it could easily be dressed up or down too, depending on the fabric from downright comfy weekend sweatshirt to something much classier and going out or office appropriate.  So a big thank you to Lisa for sending me the pattern!

*Just a quick reminder that although I did receive the pattern for free all opinions expressed here are my own, so you can feel confident that if you choose to sew up your own Zircon you'll really be getting your money's worth with this pattern.

Me Made May 2015 - Week Four

Well, it's June 1st which means Me Made May is done and over for another year.  I'm sure that those who follow my Instagram, unless they're Me Made May-ers as well, will be happy to not be subjected to a daily, "Hey, look what I'm wearing today" picture from me.  It's been a fun month though, and I've really enjoyed the challenge.  It's definitely shown me areas that I can work on improving in my wardrobe and really shown me the go to pieces that I've made that I truly love and feel great in.

How did my final week (plus two extra days) go?  Well here's the run down.  I started out figuring I'd go out with a bang and not do any repeats all week long.  I'm pretty sure that lasted until day two of the week.  The weather continued to be at odds - some days sunny and hot, some days really cold.  We even had frost warnings for heaven's sake (but thankfully no more snow! Phew!!!!!)

May 23rd -  I chose my short sleeved, blouse length Patricia tunic top on Saturday as we were headed out to supper and I wanted to be dressed nicely, but comfortably.  I like everything about this version of the Patricia.  Too bad my recent one didn't work out.  (I'm still feeling a bit bitter about last week's sewing fiasco)

May 24th - the sun was shining so I decided to pull out my Washi Tunic that I made a couple of summers ago.  I like the ease and comfort of the shirring along the back and have been thinking it may be time to make another version of this.  

  

May 25th - Ok.  So I made it until day three of the week before I reached for a repeat.  This is, of course, my Hetty cardi and my "Love My Dress" that I made as a knock off of Modcloth's Love Your Dress for the Scientific Seamstress Just for Me January challenge.

May 26th - This is another Modcloth knock off that I made a couple of summers ago.  I used the same Simplicity pattern bodice for both this and my Love my Dress.  This one has become a smidge tight on me (ahem... too many snacks!) though and felt a bit like a corset.  I'm not sure how much wear it's going to get this summer, which is too bad because other than the corset-y feeling of the bodice, I really loved this polka dot dress.  I've paired it with my Miette cardi, that was my first ever Andi Satterlund pattern that I made.  Sadly, it is also a bit snug.  Sigh...

 May 27th - Hello, again my good friend, Onyx!  I really, really could live in this top.  (I'm actually wearing my Diana Ross version today!).  I've started thinking I need to make another one soon!  You've seen this photo already in my last post, because this was the day I finished my Clemence Shorts.  You remember?  The ones that are too big... sob...  I still haven't decided what to do with them yet.

May 28th - I had a busy day planned of getting things done around the yard and house so didn't put a whole lot of thought into what I was going to wear, but I did grab my new Gathered Raglan tee that I made a week and a half ago.  As much as I was feeling sort of meh about this top when I finished it, it has grown on me and I like it more and more.  I do not like that I have to always iron the sleeve hems though when I pull it out of the drier, because they flip out every single time.  

May 29th - It was another chilly day again.  The sort that you curl up in your favourite sweater and drink cup after cup of tea in hopes that you'll thaw out eventually.  In my case that meant my Laura Aylor Beach in the Winter and Earl Grey Tea.

  

May 30th - It was still cool out, but nowhere like the day before and at least the sun was shining!  I decided on my Sew Liberated School House Tunic.

May 31st - After puttering about in the garden and yard most of the day, I washed the mud off of me, changed out of my tortolla tank and shorts, and put on my comfy like pjs cotton lawn Jamie dress that I made ages ago!  This dress sees so much wear every summer that it's starting to show that use.  I think it might be time to make a new one for kicking about it!  Little Man was insistent that he take the photo for me and wanted to play around with the different filters on my phone.  I like what he chose for this one.

So that's it for my first ever Me Made May.  I am really happy that I did better than I really had expected.  I was sure at some point I would take the lazy way out and say, "Oh look here, I'm using my handmade bag or wallet" but I really felt that wouldn't be much of a challenge given that I don't actually own a store bought bag or wallet. I was glad that I put more effort in than that.  How about you?  Did you do a Me Made May challenge for yourself?  How did it go?  Do you plan to participate again next year?

Onyx

I'm back today with another test that I've been eagerly waiting to show you!  This time it's sewing, though, instead of knitting.

Several weeks ago I got an email from Lisa at Paprika Patterns asking if I would like to apply to test a new pattern.  After sewing up and reviewing the Jade Skirt I jumped at the opportunity and sent an email back right away.  I was super excited to get an email back a couple days later saying I was in.

It was a great testing experience and I ended up with a garment I absolutely love, that fit pretty much right off the hop.  The Onyx top is a carefree easy woven tee.  It has a gentle hi-low hem and comes with two options: a cropped, sleeveless variation and a longer short sleeved version with a cute button treatment on the sleeve. The neckline (and the armholes for the sleeveless version) are finished with bias tape.  So, so easy!!! Of course like the other Paprika Patterns available it comes in a great range of sizes (bust measurements from 31 1/2" all the way up to 49")!

My first one I made out of a polyester crepe-ish fabric.  I've no idea what it actually is or where it came from, but I thought it might look kind of neat with its vertical gradient striping.  Also? The selvedge edge said "Diana Ross", which made me happy.

...More childhood memories.  This memory of a gong show in the school gym, velvet trousers and a completely made up disco song with possibly the world's lamest lyrics - in fact there may have only been one line, that's all I remember anyways - Come on disco woman, baby, come on baby dance with me - but my friends, Madeline and Patricia and I channelled our inner disco diva and strutted our way around the stage to the end of our song being the only group not being gong-ed off stage, so there was that... Ah.  Grade three.  It was a good year.  Anyways that's enough of a trip down memory lane for now.  Back to my Diana Ross polyester and the Onyx now that you know why the fact my fabric was Diana Ross was making me happy!

Onyx sewed up like a dream.  I'm pretty sure the pattern took longer to assemble and cut out than to sew.  I made it exactly as written figuring it would be an excellent jumping off point for any fit issues that might crop up given it was a test sew.  But there really were no fit issues.  It was great.

I knew that I would definitely make more down the road and I did.  One evening I decided on a whim that I felt like sewing something.  I didn't have a particular project in mind, but went down to the sewing room and rifled through my patterns and quickly settled on Onyx.  I grabbed the cotton lawn that the little boys had chosen when we'd had our big shopping trip and my pattern and got started.  I went downstairs at 10pm.  By 11:30pm I was tucking into bed with a brand new top hanging in my closet.  INSTANT GRATIFICATION.

The only thing I changed with my second one was to add a bit of length, because I have a excellent talent for shrinking things and although I'd preshrunk my cotton lawn when I first bought it, I didn't want to take the chance on having it continue to shrink and be too short for me to wear eventually.

I'm pretty sure there will still be more Onyx tops in my future.  It's such a blank canvas of a shirt that the possibilities really are endless!  You can buy the just released Onyx top pattern over at the Paprika Patterns website.  I highly recommend it! And if you hurry, you can get it 15% off for a short time.  You can check out the details here.

Update: I just have to say how incredibly honoured I am to have been featured on the Friday Spotlight over at Sew Can She!  Thank you everyone who dropped by the blog and to Caroline for her kind words!!!

The Jade Skirt

As promised the other day, I've finished sewing the Jade Skirt and I'm back here with a review* of it for you.

European based, Paprika Patterns, have just re-released the Jade Skirt last week, with some updates and improvements to their original first pattern.  The sizing has been increased (up to a 50.5" hip now!) and fit has been improved.  You may have seen the Jade Skirt for awhile now - I know it keeps popping up when I'm browsing Pinterest!  It's got a unique look with the origami style folds along the front of it.  It's also got a unique method of construction, but don't worry about that.  There's lots of suggestions, tutorials and even a short video available to help you along the way.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.  When you purchase the Jade Skirt pattern you will receive six different files, which seems like a lot, but it's broken down into separate ones that include an introduction, the instructions, a print guide, two for the pattern printing - one that you can have done at a copy shop and the second one is the print at home version, as well as a practice sheet to get those folds down pat before you move onto working with your fabric. The multiple files make it easy to find just what you're wanting instead of scrolling through page after page to find it.  The skirt comes in two lengths - mini (which I made) and midi which is of course a bit longer and there's also a handy tutorial on the website if you need to make some length adjustments too!

The instructions are really thorough, with lots of line drawings to illustrate what you are supposed to be doing, and as I mentioned if you run into trouble, you can head on over to the Paprika Pattern website for everything from the video demonstrating the folding to a quick tutorial on how to add elastic to your waistband if you want.  The links are all there in the instructions so you don't have to search around at all, which I found really helpful.

The pattern was easy to print out and assemble - my only issue being when it came time to know where my cutting line was for the mini length I was making, I accidentally started following the fold line instead of the cutting line.  Oops!  It definitely required a wee bit more concentration to make sure with all the lines there that I didn't get off track. (That could just be me though.  I've been known to get distracted easily... Oooh!  Look! Shiny things...)

Upcycling and using up old stash! Love it when I can do that!

Sewing up the skirt was fun.  I looked at the instructions and then hopped on over to watch the video so I could get the hang of folding.  It definitely is the lengthiest part of the process.  Once the folds are done and secured the rest of the skirt goes together very quickly though. I sewed mine in a couple of afternoons, taking just a half hour here or there to work on it, but you could easily print off the pattern, cut it out and sew it up and be ready to wear it out on the town in a matter of a few hours.  Instant gratification and instant wardrobe expansion!  What I really liked about the construction is that that all the seams are enclosed and done in such a way it's super easy.  No worries about fiddling with finishing seam allowance.

The Jade Skirt! (I did iron it - honestly...)

So let's talk about my version of the skirt.  I decided, that since I don't generally wear shorter closer fitting skirts myself, I would make it for G instead.  I had a charcoal grey, long jersey skirt that has been sitting in my closet for years (about 10 maybe since I last wore it?) and I thought it would be perfect reincarnated as the Jade Skirt.  I could only do the shorter mini length, given my fabric constraints and would have to piece together the waistband, but it was such a great weight for the skirt I went ahead with it.  Just for fun, I lined it with hot pink lycra jersey with approximately the same stretch percentage that has been in my fabric stash since my days working at the fabric store back in the late 90s.  I do so love a pop of colour when using neutrals, even if no one else knows they're there. I also chose to do the elasticized waistband option since I was using a fairly light weight knit.  Nothing worse than your skirt slowly migrating south on you as you go about your day (I was fairly certain G wouldn't appreciate that - I am possibly not yet forgiven for the time her Aboyne wasn't fastened properly at the waist and left her dancing the Scottish Lilt momentarily in her underskirt as her skirt puddled around her feet at a competition years ago).

Look at that fun lining!!

I'm quite happy with the skirt and pretty impressed with Paprika Patterns.  G's happy too! She declares it a very comfortable and figure flattering skirt and has already asked me to make her another one as soon as possible.

I'm looking forward to trying my hand at the Jasper Sweater for myself - I've been eyeing that sweater since it first popped up on Pinterest long before Lisa ever drafted up the pattern for the public -  and also definitely looking forward to seeing what is in store for the future with their stylish and unique designs.

*Lisa of Paprika Patterns did generously send me a copy of the pattern free of charge, but all opinions expressed here are my own.

Knitting All the Wool

Apparently when I'm cold I want to knit all the wool and all the things.

In the past I've tried to be pretty good about not having a whole lot of different projects on the needles, because I tend to get stuck in a rut of not knowing which to work on and subsequently nothing gets finished as I spin my wheels in indecision.

Yet, the mercury dropped again (It's been up and down like a yo-yo this winter!), I felt cold and suddenly found myself, over the last few weeks, with a sweater, a pair of socks, a shawl and a pair of fingerless gloves on the needles all at once.  How on earth did that happen??? I also signed up for a sock swap in my "Octo-mamas" group on Ravelry, so need to get another pair of socks on the needles pronto.  YIKES!

After a moment of panic and aforementioned indecision I worked out a system.  The sweater - Laura Aylor's the beach in winter - is for a knit along, but the finish date isn't until March 20th, so I've got lots of time for that.  It has become my weekend knitting.  I work on it from Friday evening to Sunday evening, then I stash it away again until the following weekend.  I'm almost finished the body of it, so I'm on track.  I think...

Trying to decide how much longer to knit before
I start the short rows for the curved bottom...

The rest becomes my weekday evening knitting.  I had put the socks aside for a while because they are destined as a gift - not needed until Christmas.  Sssshhhhhhh.  Don't tell!  They're colour work and they're a gorgeous pattern.  It's going to be hard not to spill the beans early on these ones!  I've finished one sock and am three quarters of the way through the second one.  (And feeling a little smug to be ahead of my gift knitting schedule!)

Once I put the socks aside, I worked on the shawl, Laura Aylor's Sunstruck,  pretty much exclusively until it was done except the border.  I'm procrastinating on that now though because the thought of picking up all those border stitches fills me with more than a bit of dread.  But I love the shawl, so I really need to be brave and attack those picked up stitches once and for all but oh how those 375 stitches for the top border are daunting!! (I'm actually wrapped up in my shawl right now - no border, ends haven't been woven in, but it's big and squishy and cozy and I was chilly after being outside with the dog)

Cozy, cozy wool!

The fingerless gloves were a quick interlude to the other projects.  What a fun pattern.  Treads is a great pattern, that I modified very slightly to eliminate the tipless fingers - I wanted just ordinary fingerless gloves so cast off immediately after the last lateral braid instead of continuing on.  I felt the linen ridge stitch and lateral braid stitches really made the pattern more masculine which is what I was after for this pair of  charcoal grey "Manly Mitts".

Manly mitts.  See how well they go with the tools? ;)

I should actually focus on the gift socks so I can get started on the sock swap socks! I need those 2.5mm needles freed up in order to cast on.  So I guess what I know my focus will be this week!!!

I'm going to ignore the fact that there is also a 3/4 done linen Plum Blossom Tee that is sitting languishing in my closet.  But to be fair,  when the temperatures are in the -30C something with the windchill it's awfully hard to motivate oneself to knit something linen and summery.  It's all about wool.  Warm, cozy wool!!!

I think I'm going to go put on a sweater right now, though, and head down to the sewing room in the basement.  I'm putting the finishing touches on a skirt for G right now.  I hope you'll drop by again in a few days when  I'll be reviewing the wildly "Pinterest popular" Jade skirt from Lisa of Paprika patterns.  If you hurry, and stop by her site, both Jade and her immensely popular Jasper sweater (if you've been on Pinterest any time in the last year you've definitely seen this sweater and probably pinned it and now the pattern is available) are both on sale, 15% off, until February 24th! Go now, you don't want to miss out and I'll see you back here in a couple of days!