Another Julia cardigan, this time in a fun purple and green knit

I love the Julia cardigan, it is just so fabulous. If you read my blog I have previously made 3 julia cardigans... from the pattern parcel

two for my mom

and the grey stripes knit for me.

I actually gave away my grey one but I wanted one where I could have some fun print like the one I made my mom. I found this purple and green semi-knit (it feels like a knit but barely stretches, this on courtesy of the fabric hoarder I bought her stash years ago). I had to get crafty with placement and I just had enough fabric for this cardigan. There was parts that were missing the ink, holes, and writing on it. But I made it work.

Being too lazy to change my outfit much when I was taking photos, I put it over a tank top that I had on while taking my after photos.

I love the pattern. I am probably going to have to fix the sleeves, I messed up somewhere

But I am a happy girl :)

This cardigan is seriously so much fun! I have already worn it a bunch!

Cheers,
Lauren

Men's t-shirt pattern

 I have finally made my boyfriend something. He can never find t-shirts that fit him correctly. And since I have so much fabric (sigh, its a curse and a blessing) in my closet. So I used some to make him some t-shirts. I used the Lisel and Co. mens metro pattern




 You can find the pattern here.
I have made him 2 now one was a tester to see how the sizing was going to work (so had to xxl for him- he is big and broad shouldered).

Finally some after photos!

Here's us at a festival! I was able to get out and enjoy the lovely weather and me not have to work.

The fit of the shirt is spot on.I was really happy with my sewing. I used a twin needle to sew all of the hems. I learned that loosing some of the tension in the needle helps a lot with not having bulging stitches on lightweight knits.
Now he wants more shirts, because he says that he is spoiled since this shirt fits him the best. He wears it everywhere. I can make him a black one since I have black knit left in my closet. But other than that all of my fabric is too girly. I said then I should have a free pass with buying more fabric, you know... to make him more shirts ;)

Cheers,
Lauren

Pumpkin Spice Dolman with tribal knit

Just a little behind in blogging, life is busy. A good busy but at times a blur. I get some time to sew but really not much. There were no after photos for me to blog so I had a small hiatus on the blog here. Luckily I have several dones now that I am good for a few weeks. I love easy sewing with knits. I got this knit from a Girl Charlie Knit Fix that I had purchased off someone else. I loved the black and blue print fabric.

I decided to sew the pumpkin spice dolman from patterns for pirates.

I love the ease of the top. I opted for without the patches as my long arms never match where they need to go. Also I am a bit lazy
Here is my end product, which BTW I love!

Check out those batwings.

Not a super hi-lo hem, it is subtle.

From the front- fit is great. I will wear a tank top underneath so the fabric is just a tiny bit grabby b/c it is thin.

Paired with my faux leather leggings and some boots- this top is great! I will definitely make again!

Cheers,
Lauren

Jalie tunic... part fail??? Jury is still out

Happy Leap year! Today I leave you with a mystery. I got this broken heart fabric from the Gurl Charlee group from a Knit Fix. It is super soft and comfy, it has a lot of drape.


I selected Jalie 3254, and went for a tunic pattern.



I sewed this up and got this top. Which when I put it on it looks like a PJ. Err. I think b/c the fabric is really stretchy and I think it makes the top sag b/c of that.

Um but it looks like a PJ. As a PJ it can work...

Just playing around, I messed with the length and snapped a photo. Wow that looks great!

The biggest question that I sit and ask myself is what will get the most use? The top? Would I wear the shorter top to work? I don't know. What about as a PJ? I could see me getting a lot of use in the spring without pants. What would get the most use? The verdict is still out. I seriously cannot make up my mind. Like I have a lot of tops. Hmmm.

Cheers,
Lauren

Mesa Dress

I recently found another sewing magazine that I began to subscribe to... Yeah I know it is like I need another hole in my head but I have found myself getting slightly bored with Threads magazine, everything seems geared towards an older audience and I find myself uninspired by a lot of their articles. Meh. Seamwork is a digital sewing magazine that comes with 2 patterns a month, which now they give you 2 pattern credits so you can decide what you actually want as a pattern-I thought this was a cool new option.

Today is my first trial with one of their patterns. It is the Mesa dress. Says it is a 1 hour sew. Truly it is really easy. 



I did the pattern with a knit I got from Craftsy  that was a kit that I decided I didn't want to make a cardigan with it- I thought this would be an awesome fabric for a dress. The answer is yes, this fabric makes an awesome dress. I sewed this dress up super fast. And dang look at that shape it gives me (a waist and you can't see my stomach). Dang. Too bad it is too cold to wear it yet.

Here it is, and yes hello goofball. I hate taking end photos!

I probably need a tan, I am pretty light. Here is your dose of cat cuteness. Someone decided to crash the picture taking event and just sit and stare. So I was telling her I got your nose. She truly did freeze.

Seriously spring needs to get here (or temps over 30 degrees) where I can start wearing this.

Cheers,
Lauren

Renefrew top

During the Black Friday Sale, I purchased several sewing kits from Craftsy. This was the Renefrew top, click here for the craftsy page.

It was such a great price and I liked the simple pattern. I selected the grey and white striped fabric.
It was an easy cut and a fast sew. I am getting very good at sewing knits and simple t-shirts that really everything just repeats itself. So I sewed up this top. It was really fast and easy.

And hey it looks like the picture from craftsy! The sleeves are long enough. It fits well, even if you see my fat! LOL

LOL some of the pics are funny I know. Didn't want to hide them. They are just TOO funny. I almost want to have a captioning contest. Cant you tell it has been awhile since I took photos (which I HATE doing).

Cheers,
Lauren

True Bias Hudson Pants

OK I finally got a day with SOME light. Keyword SUM. Wow the weekends have been kind of dark, not a lot of sun and light. It has been rough, yesterday we had some light and we also had some snow! I got a few pictures. It feels like it has been forever since I took photographs. And I just feel goofy. Plain ol' goofy. Sigh.

I did some sewing on my Christmas break. Now finally get some pictures and here come some blog posts! Yay!

First is the True Bias pattern- the hudson pant. They are supposed to be like a pair of sporty, track pants. I purchased it in a pattern parcel, actually pattern parcel #6

This was such a wonderful parcel b/c I have done the Syrah maxi skirt, the bronte top, the Julia cardigan. Today I did the pants and I have actually done the Zsalya dress/top. So 5 out of 6. The only one I have not done is the unlocked bonus dress pattern. Definitely got my money's worth out of this parcel. :)

So I made the pants and I totally messed up on trying to get the pattern to match from the front to back. Oh well. The pattern is for someone who is 5'6" so I added 2 inches to the length. I am glad I did. I screwed up the buttonholes with the ties and I didn't do the tiered sewing of the belt. I left as is. I am overall very happy with the pants. I am really happy I went with black accents to compliment the pattern. The fabric is so soft- I actually purchased it from another person of the Knitfix group.

Without heals..

With heals..

Overall they are great pants. They are comfy and the fit is spot on. Just like the picture. But for some reason I feel like they look like PJ pants. Cute PJs, but PJs. I don't know if I could wear them out yet. The debate is still out. I go back and forth. For right now, I am wearing them chilling in the house being super comfy.

Cheers,
Lauren

Striped dress, McCalls 6319

Today is a sewing day, I decided to use my knit stash (cough, cough pile...) I liked this pattern from McCall's 6319. Looks like a simple dress, I chose view A. I opted to not use the zipper.

I cut a size 10 b/c I had a feeling it would be big based on how the model is standing. I needed a lining for this reddish-pink, cream and blue striped fabric. I chose a cream color. It was a quick sew. The bottom hem is raw because this knit is super thin. Just like the red skirt I just made. I did not try to match the stripes because I knew I could not do it since it drapes. Here is my new dress! Super soft and comfy

Here are some better photos when I had just finished sewing it to prove that I do clean up well, I just do not like to take after pics sometimes.

Fit is great!

Easy sew. Nice dress. Win win!! I might not get a lot of use out of it until after winter but I will try!

Cheers,
Lauren