DIY Scuba Knit Skirt & New Sewing Book:)

"For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." 

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

     Hello friends!:) I hope you're all doing well! Its been a little tricky to get much sewing done lately but I'm trying! I'm more active on Instagram @rikkisews. October was basically a write-off as far as sewing goes but I did made a cute pair of baby pants for my 5 month old:)

     My first project of November was this cool suede-bonded scuba-knit skirt I made following a Stitch Sisters Video. So easy! You take just a few measurements and plot them directly onto your fabric! I did give myself a 1/2 seam allowance on the sides just in case my fabric wasn't stretchy enough. If you want an instant-gratification project, this is it! I had it cut out on Friday and sewed it up Saturday night so I could wear it to church on Sunday:) The black top is RTW but the dolman top I made a few years ago (it was a dress initially, but I refashioned it into a top and get way more wear out of this way). It was rather late when I started (about 11 pm), but I had it done within a couple hours (had just a little adjusting on the sides). I used steam a seam for the hem  and 1" elastic for the waist. It was very satisfying making something so quickly and being able to wear it next day!

With Author Barbara Emodi @ her book signing:)

 
     I just love sewing-related podcasts! Clothes Making Mavens is one I began listening to earlier this year. One of the "Mavens" is Barbara Emodi, who is also author of "Sew...The Garment-Making Book of Knowledge". What a great read! I'll be honest, many sewing books are a bit dry, lol. Not this one:) Barbara has a nice sense of humour and has so many helpful tips! I first borrowed it from my local library and purchased it at a book signing she did recently. It was such a pleasure to meet her in person, she is just lovely! I picked up my scuba-knit fabric the same day. Not sure why, but I've had a suede skirt on the brain for several weeks now, lol.

   

  Well, thats it for today! I just love my new skirt, I think it'll be quite versatile! Have a wonderful week everyone & thanks for stopping by! Happy sewing!:)

#sewtogetherforsummer2018, Burda 6730

Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

    Hello sewing friends:) My latest make is a Burda wrap dress from the UFO (unfinished objects) pile. I sheepishly admit its been there for the better part of two years (I think, lol). When I first ventured into garment sewing as an adult, everything ended up being a UFO or a fail. I've come a long way since then and usually start & finish one project at a time. There's a challenge on Instagram now (today is the last day to post) to make any wrap dress and share with the hashtag: #sewtogetherforsummer. I decided to join about a week ago, after getting the Ok to use this dress.

I made full-length ties instead of using self-fabric instead of ribbon.

   This was a fairly simple project but the fabric was impossible to topstitch with a double needle , it kept skipping stitches. Its a little short but wearable. I had to adjust the wrap front since it gaped (I managed to stretch out the neckline a bit too, oops!) I wish it crossed over a bit more in the skirt but it will be better after I lose the rest of the baby weight (my son will be three weeks old tomorrow:) I have so many projects on the brain, lol. I'm currently making a few things for my sister who is pregnant though (yay!). Her Baby Shower is next month so I'll post the stuff I make after that.
 

Closeup of the fabric print. A polyester knit from Fabricville:)

    Well thats all for today folks!:) Any UFO's on hand? Do you ever have UFO's or are you pretty diligent to finish projects? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading and til next time, happy sewing!:)

Tropical #handmadesummerdress 2018/ Vogue Maternity Dress:)

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."

Isaiah 66:13

  Hello sewing friends!:) I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful day with your families:) We had a great service at church, then swung by the drive thru @ McDonald's (my youngest son conked out in his carseat so we thought it would be best to just grab something quick and eat home instead of going out to a restaurant). We all had a nice afternoon nap and later for an evening walk. Great that the weather is starting to feel more "Spring-like":)

     I finished this Ogden Cami dress for the #handmadesummerdress challenge a little while ago now, but just got some decent photos this morning. I was inspired by a hack on Instagram where the Odgen Cami was made into a dress by simply lengthening the cami by12"-14". I lengthened mine by 13". Its difficult to see the clear ruler, but I put it under the side seam at an angle to flare ever so slightly. I may have to adjust once I can actually try it on post-pregnancy, but I wanted to make sure I had sufficient walking room. I wanted to make a self-fabric belt (like my inspiration photo), but I didn't have enough fabric, so I just tied on a belt I have now (it really needs to be cinched in at the waist).

Front

Back

       This beautiful fabric is another tropical print crinkle rayon I purchased from Fabricville last year:) I just adore tropical prints! I'm very much looking forward to wearing it this Summer:)

We had a few very warm days so I decided to make a quick t-shirt dress from this amazing "denim-look" rayon knit from my stash. Its a fairly stable knit. I used the scoop neckline from M6886 and added a neckband (ended up being 1/2" wide). I wore it yesterday to church for Mother's Day:)

    Well, thats it for today!:) I'm currently working on a faux leather jacket! Very exciting:) Its a blueish grey and meant to be a wearable muslin. I definitely don't want to ruin my gorgeous brown faux leather (same fabric as the tie belt on my Ogden Cami dress:) You can find me on IG @rikkisews, and see more progress photos.

Till next time, thanks so much for reading and happy sewing!:) xo

Pink Lemonade "Mona" Jacket:)

"You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your Word."

Psalms 119:114

      Hello my friends!:) My latest make is this vibrant pink Motorcycle-style "Mona" jacket from the French pattern company "Wear Lemonade". You can download the pattern for free here. FYI, there are no instructions but there is a video tutorial on this blog page and on Youtube. If you don't know French I'd suggest using Google translate, I had a difficult time finding the PDF download link without doing so. I watched the sewalong video several times and took notes (which I highly recommend doing, it really helps understand the process). The pattern is also available for purchase (not certain if its a printed pattern or PDF, but it would surely come with instructions). Once I had the pattern pieces cut out and lengthened (the jacket is a bit cropped and several reviews that I read noted that they lengthened the jacket a bit (I added about 3" of length).

      The fabric I used is a gorgeous hot pink stretch denim from Fabricville. I had a Moto jacket on my 2018makenine, but originally intended to use a more involved Butterick pattern. The lovely Lisa from the Youtube channel "And Sew On" (@lisakisch on IG) had recently made up this Mona jacket pattern as part of a capsule wardrobe. She said this jacket was pretty quick and easy (and its unlined) so that sold me, lol. If you follow my Blog you know I'm going to have another baby very soon, so I'm trying to get as much sewing done as I can while I have the time. Quick and easy is a big plus:)

      I did a few things different, first adding a light interfacing to the two main facing pieces (the pattern only calls to interface the collar) and strips of interfacing to stabilize the zipper area (see photo in the collage above). I used knit interfacing for the zipper area but I wish I had used it for the facing pieces as well (instead of non-stretch interfacing).  I also added topstitching (which I probably should have done last) I have an unlined RTW Moto Jacket that I used as a reference. I shortened the zipper by pulling off the extra zipper teeth and reusing the old top-stop (I tried without it as the video shows, but I prefer the security of the top-stop). I bought a package of top-stops at some point but I couldn't find them, so trimmed the zipper tape right above the old top-stop and used the pliers to carefully squeeze between the prong and open it up and then put it back on (there are many Youtube videos that show how to shorten zippers, here is a good one:)

  I changed the construction order by batching tasks when I could (sewing straight seams, pressing, adding interfacing, finishing seams etc.). I'm fascinated by sewing industry techniques and practices, and that is one of them. I'm not a very fast sewist, so anything that helps me be more efficient, I'm all for it:)
     

 
      I made up a size 40 based on what I thought would be good post-baby, but after trying it on (unzipped of course:) and seeing it on my dress form, I wish I had cut the 38 at least. I may shape the side seams a bit to nip it in more at the waist. I had initially set the sleeves in as directed, but I found the sleeve cap was a bit too puffy (I had also adjusted the shoulder slope so that didn't help, lol) so ripped out the stitches of the sleeve head and arm, removed some ease and sewed the sleeves in flat. Next time I'll cut a smaller size  and sew the sleeves in flat again. I may not have to remove any ease, but if I do its easy enough to adjust later. I'm not crazy about how long and high the bust darts are, I may lower them next time.

 


   I found this dress on Pinterest, isn't it fab?? I can see me making a Mona jacket dress hack in the future. *Swoon*:)

   Well, thats all for today folks! I'm currently batch-sewing two Ogden Cami's and another lengthened to be a dress (the third is for the #handmadesummerdress challenge on IG). I'm almost done, so I'll hopefully do a blog post on it next week:)

Have a wonderful day everyone, thanks so much for reading:) xo

Ogden Cami/M7606, Pin It Sew It 2018,

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."

Psalm 5:1-4   Lately I've been a bit obsessed with this song based on Psalm 5:) 

   Hello my lovely sewing friends!:) Its been about a month since I've blogged but I *have* been sewing consistently. My Rain Cape is pretty much done, just need to finish the belt, but I think I'll add buttonholes after baby comes, so that they're for at the right place at my waist, lol. Needless to say I missed the cut-off for my Facebook Sewing Groups March Challenge. Ah well.

    That Sewing Blab is having their second Annual "Pin It Sew It" Event (projects need to be completed and posted on Instagram by the end of April). I'd been interested in the Ogden Cami by True Bias and while I was still contemplating getting the pattern, I stumbled across an outfit by Margo (Creatinginthegap) on an Instagram search where she had combined an Ogden Cami with the McCalls 7606 ruffle skirt. Sold, lol. I was also inspired by Rosy Pena to make the ruffle wrap skirt in this gorgeous tropical print crinkle rayon (she blogs about it here and shows a trick to easily gather the miles of ruffle, lol). Basically, highest tension + longest stitch length= perfect gathers. I added an extra 20" of ruffle so it would be a bit more full (as per Mimi G:)

Ogden Cami by True Bias Patterns

McCalls 7606

    I love, love, love how this outfit turned out!:) I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant so "Diana" will have to model it for now, lol. I'm so looking forward to wearing this come Summer!:)

    I generally don't sew for hire, but occasionally I do make gifts for family or friends. Last week the idea struck to make a cute little floral bomber jacket for a friends sweet little daughter. She's not even 2 yet, but already likes to pick out her own outfits, lol. I thought she might like a jacket like this, so I managed to sew it up in and give it to her on Sunday after church:) Kids like what they like, so I was happy she see she actually wanted to wear it:)

      I used the "Ollie Bomber Jacket Pattern" by Kelly at Sew A Little Seam. I purchased the pattern on her site but she does offer the size 2T for free:) I think I have the exact same quilted floral knit she used. I made myself a bomber jacket last year and still had some fabric left. If I have a daughter I'll probably make her one too <3. Isn't the 2T size adorable next to mine, lol?

     Although I've made two other Ollie bombers prior to this, I was having issues with the collar. I ended up looking at the instructions for Burda Bomber jacket pattern 6478, and they have you attach the collar *before* sewing on the zipper. It really does make a difference. I definitely prefer that method and will do it their way from now on:) I went the next size up with all the Ollie Bombers I made because I wanted them a little less fitted.

      Well, thats it for today! I hope you all have a great week:) xo

Floral Burda Jacket, Make Nine Progress:)

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High."

Psalm 92:1

     Hello my friends, I hope you're all doing well:) I just finished the second of my 2018 Make Nine picks, this burda 6847 floral jacket! I'm a bit bummed that I can't wear it right now (including pics of it on anyway;) but this is definitely for post-baby, lol. I checked out all the other reviews on patternreview.com and shortened view A, by a whopping 8"! FYI, I'm 5'2":) I knew I wanted it shorter than the pattern photo anyway, and as-is, this would have been dress-length on me (I compared the back pattern piece to my beloved M6886 to see if I needed to shorten it for my torso, but it looked ok, but again, way too long! I purchased a shorter zipper too, ended up being 26" I think. I also shortened the sleeves a bit because they were definitely too long on me.

          This gorgeous floral print is a scuba-type knit I picked up at Fabricville last Summer. I previously made a skirt out of this fabric (I initially tried to make a dress, but it was a fail, lol). After that I figured it would better suit a casual jacket. I added knit interfacing to stabilize the zipper area on the jacket and on the facing pieces. I used a black Ponte knit for the hood and front facing. I decided to topstitch the front zipper area and stitch in the ditch of the hood/neck seam instead of all that hand-sewing the pattern instructed. I also topstitched the hood to keep it in place. My stitching there is a little uneven so I didn't include any closeups, lol!

   For some reason the stitches kept skipping when I tried to topstitch with a double needle. After trying several needles, I opted for this decorative stretch stitch. I really like how it looks and will definitely be using it again in the future!:)

   This is currently on my cutting table!:) Using the first two patterns of my 2018 Make Nine to make the third on my list!:) My FB sewing group is doing a "Pinterest Inspired" Challenge for the month of March, so I'm more motivated to do this Rain Cape now:) I don't think I'll be able to find a matching deep blue zipper, so I'll probably use a contrasting white one.


   Still figuring out what type of zipper application I'll use- regular, exposed, lapped, with a zipper guard?? Any suggestions?:)

    Well, that's all for now:) I'll take some photos a few months from now once I can zip it up, lol:) Have a wonderful day everyone!