Fall Sewing, Renfew #1

"The Heavens declare the Glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world."

Psalm 19:1-6

      Hey all! Just finished my first sewing project of the Fall! I was hoping to have a pair of leggings to wear with this top, but the fabric I chose didn't have enough stretch so I could barely get them on, lol! Hopefully I'll have a pair soon! I have some leather-looking stretch fabric in my stash. The last fabric I used was a leather-look scuba knit, but not nearly enough stretch. It was more like a woven. Bah. I got leather on the brain, ha.

      The last Renfrew I made was a maternity version (I used a combination of the Renfrew and another pattern that was a maternity top). I disliked the seam in the cowl neck so I tried to cut out the pattern piece in such a way that I eliminated that seam. I folded the tissue as shown and just flipped over the pattern piece.

      I cut a straight size 6, but should have graded to a 0 in the hips. Sewaholic patterns are designed for the "Pear-Shaped" woman, which I am not, lol. I probably could have cut an 8 in the shoulders:p Ah well, a 6 works.

          I will definitely sew up this pattern again. Probably at least twice more this Fall/Winter. The fabric I used is a soft rayon/polyester knit. Its so cozy and warm. My only beef with it is it gets worn-looking a little more quickly than I'd like. I picked up a few different prints of this fabric last year, as it was in the previous years collection, then in the clearance section. Hard to resist those $2.99/m cuts!;) Til next time!

Vogue 1314, Tropical Edition;)

"The man said,
            “This is now bone of my bones,
            And flesh of my flesh;
            She shall be called Woman,
            Because she was taken out of Man.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."

Genesis 2:23-24

 

With the stunning bride, April:)

     Hello friends!:) Here is my latest version of Vogue 1314. I made a strapless version with a matching shrug (also a modified jacket pattern). I kinda made it up as I went but I'll show what I did so perhaps it may help someone in the future:)

 

      This McCalls was my fourth attempt at a shrug, lol. I tried a Burda pattern, a Simplicity pattern and a DIY from Pinterest but none of those were what I was looking for. I used view A here and modified it the best I could. Actually the Burda pattern probably would've worked if my fabric has sufficient 4 way stretch but it didn't. Good thing I started this project early, lol!

    I cut straight across about an inch above the bottom of the armhole when I cut out my lining and fashion fabric. After constructing the main dress and lining, I basted them at the top, wrong sides together, then applied 1" elastic on the inside (I only had button hole elastic, lol)  by zigzagging on the edge (like how its applied to swimwear).

 

    I also sewed a second row of stitching close to the bottom of the elastic.

 

  I then turned the elastic under twice and sewed in the ditch of the side seams.

    I added swimwear cups to the lining so I didn't have to worry about a bra!:)

    I tacked the turned elastic to the lining at the centre front and centre back, to keep it from flipping out.

      I applied clear silicone calking (yes, calking!:) directly onto the inside of the dress. I applied a small area at a time, letting it dry in between. The calking I used was flexible (maybe most is, not sure!), so it stretched with my dress, helping it stay up.

 


 In hindsight, I should have cut a shorter length of elastic. I was afraid of creating an unsightly back bulge so didn't cut it short enough!:p I did have a roll-on adhesive called "fashion aid" which I ended up using. I wore a strapless RTW dress for my sisters wedding that had silicone tape. I tried googling tutorials for help but nothing came up, except a tip from a Threads Magazine reader. I just had to wing it!

     When worn the dress was taught enough to stat turned under (with the tacked sides, centre front & back).

     Some more photos...bye for now!:)

Regular & modified versions!:)

Me & my sister:)

Floral Vogue and a Mccalls Dud:p

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

   Hebrews 13:1-3

 


    Hey y'all:) I hope everyone had a great summer! I'm a little sad to see it end but am looking forward to some Fall sewing and a bit cooler weather. Its been so humid here, ugh.


    I have a couple projects to show you today. One good, another, not so much! I haven't really shared many sewing fails. I usually only blog about the sewing projects I'm pleased with but I felt like I was setting some kind of record this summer with my string of them, lol!


 

Mccalls 6744

   


      *Sigh*, I wanted this pattern to work for me but it just...didn't! :( I wouldn't necessarily "not recommend it" (on PR), since there have been sooo many amazing versions. I chose the skirt from view B instead of the spliced skirt from view C. In hindsight, it probably would have been more flattering. I didn't really care for the fit of the top on me anyway though.
   

      I already cut up the dress, I'm determined to use this great fabric for something else!:)

      Now this latest version of my beloved Vogue 1314 is pretty darn flattering I think;) I also will be blogging about another version I made for a wedding this summer. It was strapless with a matching shrug, so it'll take a bit longer to write about. Stay tuned!:)

Baby Jon is almost 6 months:)

 
      I've made this pattern several times so I didn't change much. I trimmed about 1/4 inch from the neckline of the lining fabric to account for the "turn of cloth". I find it lies better after the neckband is sewn on.

 

     I've also been using regular 1/4 inch elastic instead of clear elastic for gathering the side seams. The instructions call for basting/gathering method but many on PR have recommended using elastic. When I was pregnant first time I noticed many maternity tops used regular elastic for gathering so I just started using that instead.

   Well, thats all for now. I will hopefully get to blog about my other version in the next couple days:)