Jalie 2679 - Back to Reality

Oh all this fun thinking about sewing for Spring but yet here it is 15 degrees with a impending colassal snowstorm coming, nothing like back to reality.

Here is the Jalie 2679 fleece coat I made at the beginning of the month. I made it for the ActiveWear contest on Pattern Review. Normally, I'm scrambling to finish a project, but this time I finished it early, yet here I am submitting it on the last day!

I absolutely love this jacket. I bought this fabric, which is the Polartec WindPro 200 from my local indie, Fabric Gallery. She has a variety of really nice fleeces, not the Joann's yuck, but the good stuff. So, I grab it in the colors I like when she gets it in. This version, the WindPro 200, is extra thick and has the added benefit of being water and wind resistant.

Here's the description of it from Seattle Fabrics.

A new revolution in thermal fabrics allows you to forgo the use of a shell in all but the most extreme wet or windy conditions. The tight knit construction of the Polartec Wind Pro blocks 95% of the wind, yet is highly breathable. Polartec Wind Pro fabric features a unique suede velour face and a pebbled back or velour/velour finish. All of this plus a DWR (Durable Water Resistant) finish makes this fabric perfect for outerwear garments. The slightly denser body of the Wind Pro fabrics makes it really nice to work with.

It really was very nice to work with. It is definitely a lot thicker than regular fleece and the suede finish is very nice. It almost has a neoprene type feel to it with it's thickness and drape. This coat is as warm as my heavy Roxy snowboarding jacket!

I left out the side pockets for a couple reasons. One, the fleece was so heavy they just wouldn't lay down well, two, I never use those little pockets and three, I don't need any extra bulk around the middle. The other change I made was topstitching on both sides of the seam. I liked the way it looked.





Now for the "Action" shots for the "Active" wear!

A little Chuck-It with the dogs. Unfortunately they lost both the bright orange tennis balls.

Palette Challenge Fabrics

I went through my fabrics last night and was amazed at how many I had in this palette. I guess I do love blues and oranges. I was wrong about the silk that had inspired me, it was only orange and cream, no blue in it. I think I was thinking about another fabric I had wanted to purchase but didn't.

From left to right top row: Cotton stretch knit, crepey chiffon that is almost see through, blue ponte, rayon knit
Middle row: white denim, orange/cream silk, blue/green rayon knit, coral polyester crepe stretch.
Second middle: Blue linen, Blue/white polka dot faille
Bottom row: Flowered faille, blue/blue cotton knit, light orange cotton woven



Obviously, I'm not going to sew all these right now, but I just threw them together for more inspiration. Now I just need to match them up with patterns. Right now I'm thinking about using the white denim for a skirt, maybe the blue linen for some sailor pants or shorts, the blue polka dots for a Macaroon dress and the orange silk for a Vogue 1228 out of the new collection. I do need a shirt or two and I'm thinking about a couple I like. I'm going to let it sink in a bit before I decide. Then again, I'm famous for changing things as I go though.

Spring Palette Challenge at Colette Patterns

Spring Palette Challenge

I'm not much for "Challenges" or "SWAPS" because I'm way to fickle. This one, however, looked like fun. I love the idea of a wardrobe based on a palette and this one was easy, basically no rules...gotta love it! So I played around today, even though I'm hitting the tail end of the submit your palette portion of it.

I went with a palette of mostly blues and oranges which is one of my favorite combinations. I adore orange. Mostly the inspiration came from a piece of orange silk fabric with blue chysanthemums on it that I want to use for Vogue 1228.

I have several other lovely pieces of fabric including some periwinkle/navy cotton knit stripes, some coral crepe knit, white denim for a skirt, and some others I will take pictures of when I put them together with my pattern ideas. I'm on a bit of a fabric diet so I'm trying to use up stash. But I have lots of yummy fabrics to choose from!

But for now, here is the inspiration board. Can you tell I have the winter blahs???


Now, there's no guarentee I will finish but it was fun to plan it out. As I said, there aren't any requirements on how many things you sew.

Butterick 5466...Sort of

I finished up my skirt tonight. I absolutely love it! It's probably the best fitting skirt I have ever made. Ironically, it started out as Butterick 5466 but by the end was completely morphed into it's own being.



I started out cutting out View C, which in the picture is the green one with the belt. Basically, it's just a pencil skirt with 4 darts in the front and 4 in the back and a regular zipper (I think) up the back center seam.

Well here is the list of what I did differently:

1. I cut out a 14 but really needed a 16, since I bought the wrong sized pattern.
2. I cut the back piece on the fold, in essence gaining the seam allowance it would have had.
3. Instead of the 4 darts in front and back, I put in only two darts front and back. I split the difference between the two that were next to each other and made my own. I am very flat, not much difference between my waist and hip, maybe 7 or 8 inches on a good day. Also, I have a reall flat tummy, thank you plastic surgeon ;-) I can't take credit for it.
4. I moved the zipper to the side, the right side, because of the embroidery. I didn't want to try to put a zipper through it.
5. I used an invisible zipper. I'm pretty sure the pattern called for a regular zipper but since I didn't even glance at the instructions, I'm not sure.
6. I added 2 inches to the length.
7. I added a lining.
8. I used a button on the waistband. I'm not sure how I was supposed to close it.
9. I obviously had to lengthen the waistband, but since it is just a straight band, it was no biggie.
10. And lastly, I cut the fabric the opposit of the grain because I wanted the embroidery to go up and down, instead of around.

Whew...so basically, I'm not sure I can call this Butterick 5466 since I made so many changes. And ironically, I have ended up with the best fitting skirt I have ever owned, made or RTW! When I realized I had the wrong size, I just started flat measuring and making it work. My hips were the right size for the pattern but my waist wasn't. Normally, its easier to fit the waist and adjust the hips, but I couldn't do that with the largest size in this pattern a 14. Even if I had had the 16, I don't think this would have fit nearly as well. For me, being fairly straight up and down with no butt or tummy, all those darts would have looked horrible.

I'm so excited! I have a TNT skirt pattern. I just need to mark all these changes down on the pattern, but at least I have them here for reference. I have another skirt planned, but I want to wear this one tomorrow and see how it fares. You never know til you wear something whether it's true love or just skin deep.

Sorry, you only get the waist down version. I'm business on the bottom, but jammies on the top!





Edited to add more pictures.

Catching Up!

Ok, so I've been a bad blogger lately. As I said, I did finish my fleece coat and have worn it a ton! Unfortunately, I've been either too busy or too sick to take photos of it. I'm hoping to get out this weekend and take some pictures. I want to take them outside and it's been Arctic up here lately.

I did manage to sew one thing since then. The infamous Tippi Hedren dress, AKA, BWOF 2-2008-103. I started my BWOF subscription in April 2008 so I have been on the hunt for this issue since then. I finally won a copy on ebay, and paid WAY too much for it, but darn it, it's so worth it! I absolutely love this dress! I made a quick, cheap version out of the $1 a yard Vera Wang poly from FabricMart. I bought a boatload of the stuff in various colors just for this purpose, to try out new patterns. This one is a navy blue. I finished it just in time to take a business trip and wore in on the plane down. I have plans to make at least 2 more. Here's the line drawing:



I will definitely make it short sleeved for the summer and am thinking about a leopard print one in some thin sweater knit. I already have a leopard print dress but a girl could use a couple, couldn't she???

Since I got back from my business trip, I've been busy rearranging and reorganizing my house. Winter blahs I think. I hit Ikea and spent way too much money. Part of it was the sewing area, but I still need to finish it. So the sewing area is kind of under construction at the moment. I was stressed out last night though and needed some sewing therapy so I managed to cut out a skirt real quick amidst the chaos.

The fabric is a gorgeous gray wool with blue embroidered flowers. Instead of using the flowers as a border on the bottom, I laid out the pattern the wrong way and have them running up and down. I'm hoping to finish it tonight, then I promise some pictures.

Jalie 2679

I bought some gorgeous Polartec fleece in December with a gift certificate from my mom for my birthday. It's thicker than the regular Polartec and it's got wind resistance in it. It's also a yummy bluish, teal color, whic is one of my favorites.

I've been planning on making myself a new fleece soon and found out there was yet another contest on Pattern Review for Activewear so what better time to sew it up. Plus, I have so many work clothes now and my closet is overflowing!

I decided on the Jalie 2679. I've had this pattern for probably 2 years and for whatever reason have not sewn it up yet. I had such great success with their scarf top that I really wanted to make this.



I'm pretty sure this is the fabric I bought, in
Aquamarine. I got it at my local indie though.

Polartec

I cut it out the other night and started sewing it up last night. I'm not happy at all with how I put the zippers in for the pockets. To me they just look shabby. I also just realized in reading the description of the fabric from the site above, that I used the wrong side as the right side. I angst over which was which and thought the nubbier side was probably the right side. Well, looks like I was wrong.

From the site: Polartec Wind Pro fabric features a unique suede velour face and a pebbled back

Luckily, I have another 2/3 of a yard left so I can recut out the small pieces for the pockets and redo them. Truthfully, I 'm not a huge fan of those side/front pockets in fleece jackets. I rarely ever use them because I find the placement irritating and I can never get the zippers up/down easily. I may just leave them off entirely. Maybe I'll see if I can figure out how to do an interior pocket instead.

Vogue 8626

Here is the idea board for the coat.



I've been planning this coat or something similar for awhile now. I waited til December for the Winter Wear Contest on Pattern Review. I didn't actually start it til around the 21st of December. I didn't have time to do any interesting blog posts about my progress as it was put together rather fast and furious. I lost my sewing mojo right after I cut out it, took a break and started sewing again on the 27th. At that time, I realized that my plan of doing bound buttonholes went awry after I attached the facings. I could have done it but it would have been a pain. I then decided on some fun, funky, alternative style closures. I found them on MJ Trim, ordered them, then angsted over their delivery time. You know, contest deadline, massive snowstorm in NYC! Well luckily they came through for me and I got them just in time. I finished it at 6:30 pm on December 31st!

I've been a bit fascinated with steampunk for the last couple months. It started after reading some Steampunk romance books...lol! I know it's been around awhile and that I'm too old to really embrace it. But I still think it's very interesting and am enjoying throwing little bits of it into my wardrobe on occasion.

Here's an up close of the closures. When I ordered them I didn't realize that both sides unsnapped leaving the middle piece completely independent. I may in the future put some JB Weld or something on the one side to make sure they don't come loose. But that would keep them horizontal and now they fall downward when not clipped together. I had to get a leather punch and put holes all the way around each of the tabs, then I sewed them on using button/upholstery thread. My poor fingers are still sore!



It was a great experiences sewing with camel hair. I even ordered more, I liked it so much. My coat so far is warm and comfy. I used the good flannel backed satin but the coat still isn't very heavy or bulky like you would think. The camel hair is thinner than the melton I have at home.

Here's a link to the pattern review I did.

Pattern Review

And here's a link to my Flickr album. My DS, age 8, was enlisted as my photographer. I think he did a pretty darn good job if I don't say so myself!

Photo Album