Simplicity 4111 (Built by Wendy) Top in “Winged” Fabric

I am so glad to be here sharing sewing projects with you again!  It feels like it’s been forever since I published a sewing project post!  Today’s was almost without photos of the garment in action, because I couldn’t find the pictures I had taken of the shirt while I was wearing it.  Oh, blog photography!  It’s definitely the most challenging part of blogging for me.

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Today I want to talk about Simplicity 4111, a pattern that is out of print but, I would argue, still in style.  This pattern is a Built by Wendy pattern (although the line is technically called “Built by You”), a collaboration between designer Wendy Mullin and Simplicity.  I’ve had this pattern for ages, since before I started sewing regularly, but haven’t made it until now.  I paired it with a fabric I’ve also had for some time:  “Aves Chatter Dim” from the “Winged” collection by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics, bought a few years ago at The Material Girls in Dearborn, MI.  Originally I planned to make a button up shirt with it (because most woven cotton fabric looks like it would make a good button up shirt to me, actually), but in the end, I think this was a better use for it.

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After measuring the flat pattern, I determined that I wouldn’t need a broad back adjustment.  You can bet I was pretty thrilled, albeit skeptical about that.  I cut a size 16 bust, 18 waist, and 20 hip, and chose to make View B with long sleeves.  I wasn’t sure where the elastic that is supposed to sit under the bust would hit, but I decided to just go for it.

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It is so interesting that you can both love and not love how a pattern turns out.  This shirt in this fabric is so, so beautiful to me.  I love it.  However…I really did need that broad back adjustment (next time!) and the under-bust elastic is a little high for me, giving the shirt a curious bust-minimizing effect.  To be fair, this is the look on the pattern envelope, but I would prefer the elastic a little lower.  After running it by my friends at Sip & Stitch, this is what I think I need to adjust for next time:  do my normal major broad back adjustment for comfort and lower the front elastic by an inch or so.  Thanks (again!) to Stacy, who really knows her stuff when it comes to fitting and pattern drafting.

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Here are a few detail shots:

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So, I kind of want to make this again in the next few months while simultaneously regretting that I don’t love the fit on the beautiful shirt that I have.  I’m going to try to wear it anyway.  What sort of fabric should I use for round two?!  (I love planning projects!!!)

After making this, I got on a little bit of a Built by Wendy kick and looked up Wendy Mullin, her work, and her patterns and books, and I have to say that a number of her patterns are ones that I really like.  Thanks to this rabbit hole, I purchased two of her patterns: Simplicity 3966 on Etsy and Simplicity 4109 on eBay.  Maybe 3966 would make a good spring jacket and 4109 could be the basis of a wool shirt jacket?  Both of these and their many possibilities are currently kicking around in my head.  If/When I use them, I will report back.  🙂

Recommendations

• Thanks to the Wednesday Weekly blog post from Helen’s Closet, I am finding so many new things!  One I am really excited about is the free Stash Shrinker Excel file from SewJourners that you can use to help you sew the fabric you already have before buying more.  I have so much good fabric in my stash, but I get distracted by all the new and pretty things that come along and sometimes my good buys of yesterday languish.  I’m hoping this will help me bring that fabric goodness to my closet instead of losing it in my fabric cabinet.  😉
• Since we were talking about Built by Wendy, did you know she has four instructional sewing books?  I currently have them checked out of the library.  I just love flipping through craft and cook books.  In case you want to check them out, too, they are:  Sew U, Sew U Homestretch, Sew U Dresses, and Sew U Coats and Jackets.  They each come with several patterns.  You can also find them used at various spots online.
• Here’s a fun time-waster for you!  The Akinator will guess any movie or literary character you can think of (although I have tricked him a few times!).  Give it a try.  It’s pretty amazing.  Just make sure to check the “under 13” option if you are using the site with kids.
• Here is a sport I never even imagined!  Welcome to the world of cycle-ball:

 

 

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Open Wide Zippered Pouch from Noodlehead

And now for something a little bit different…

I don’t always sew Christmas presents.  It can be hard to know what people will like, and I don’t want to invest time into something that isn’t a sure thing.  That’s why, this year, I decided to make a few zippered pouches.  These are not clothing or decor, and they are very, very functional, and can be used to store whatever the recipient wants.

I haven’t made many bags, so I’m not as tuned in to that area of the sewing world, but I knew from what knowledge I did have, that if I wanted to find a tutorial for a bag with great instructions, I should look at Anna Graham’s blog, called Noodlehead.  So, off I went, and found exactly what I was looking for:  the Open Wide Zippered Pouch.

After the initial tutorial post, Anna went back and updated it with two more size options so you can make small, medium, or large pouches and, as the name indicates, these pouches open wide when you unzip them.  They also stand up, thanks to interfacing and boxed corners, and stay open so you can see what’s inside.  I had never considered these options before, since the zipper pouches I use are store-bought and of the flat variety.

I made both pouches in the small size.  They were easy to make and didn’t take long at all.  I got all my fabric and zippers at Pintuck & Purl–just quarter yards of each fabric I wanted to use.  The printed fabrics are Cotton & Steel quilting cottons and the light blue solid is a lightweight denim from Art Gallery Fabrics.

I sew a lot of clothes but I have found that there are always new areas to explore in the sewing world.  So even if bags are fairly new to you, as they are to me, you can handle this.  I would definitely make these again, and I’m already planning to try out another of Anna’s pouch tutorials this year.

These pouches were well-received and are already in use, which makes me happy.  I recommend Anna’s tutorial to you if you are looking for something like this.  Here’s my question for you:  do you have any favorite bag patterns?  I’m not planning on switching away from garments, but I might try a few bags this year.

Recommendations

• I’m reading The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair, and it’s so interesting.  This is a great book for someone who only has little chunks of time to read.  She talks about a myriad of colors, and each entry is only about two or three pages, so you can learn a lot of fascinating color history, even if you only have 5 minutes here and there to read.
• I tried Cremont cheese from Vermont Creamery earlier this month, and it is SO GOOD!  I highly recommend this one if you are a cheese lover.
• I just started listening to the Awesome Etiquette podcast from the Emily Post Institute after hearing about it on the Love to Sew podcast.  It’s definitely not about picking apart the behavior of others, but focuses more on how we can care for others with our actions.  It’s nice to hear and think about positive, uplifting things.

Finally Just Right: McCall’s 6848 Shorts

It may be September, but summer isn’t over until the first day of fall on September 22, so it’s been shorts-land over here lately.  Yes, Shorts-Land is a place, and that place has been my house, where I’ve been sewing up a ton of basic and not-so-basic shorts this summer.  Like many aspects of sewing, I’ve been putting shorts and pants off because I didn’t know how to fit them, but I also know that I really need to try if I’m ever going to learn.

McCall’s 6848 is a pattern I’ve been tweaking little by little, and I think I finally have it right.  This is actually a pajama pattern, but after making my first pair of shorts from it (View D), I realized this it was going to be more of a summer staple than pajamas.

One thing I’ve found in the little bit of pants/shorts sewing I have done is that bottoms sometimes feel as though they are too high in the front and too low in the back for me.  This was definitely the case with my first pair of these shorts.  So, I got out the good ol’ Singer Sewing Reference Library books and looked up fitting, until I came up with some ideas.  For my second pair of shorts, I took a wedge out of the front and added a wedge into the back.  This got my shorts really close to what I wanted, but the front legs felt just a little…well, not tight, but not quite right–a little like they were pressing against me too much in the front of the legs.  So, for this last pair, I lengthened the back crotch point just a bit and…finally just right!!!

 

They feel exactly like I want them to.  For this pair, due to my need for basics, I decided to try out the new Art Gallery Fabrics Denim.  I got it at Pintuck & Purl in Exeter, NH (who, by the way, I’ve started doing some social media for, which is super cool).  I was kind of skeptical about this thin fabric.  I didn’t really believe it was denim, because the weight is closer to a quilting cotton, although it’s much drapier.  When you look at the weave, though, it really is a denim weave.  All that to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it.  I managed to make these up before the road trip we went on in July, and they were perfect in the car.  I guess it’s always a good day when you can wear something designed as pajamas in your everyday life.

 

I even put a little lace flower in there as my back tag.

The one extra thing I did (besides that flower) was add some long bartacks at the sides.  I know from experience that these shorts can catch on things…and rip.  It’s no fun ripping a hole in the side of your new shorts.

The only other thing I would change if I made these again would be to add pockets.  It’s pretty annoying not to have any, but I think, at this point, I want to focus more on fit than modifying patterns with extra features.  So, I’ll save it as a future idea.

Recommendations

• I’ve got to recommend it again–BRIMFIELD!  It’s going on now, and if you are an antique-lover anywhere near western Massachusetts, I highly recommend you go.  Brimfield is the largest outdoor antique market in the US and it’s going on this week until Sunday.  You can find all the details at the above link.
• I tried one of the best recipes EVER on Monday.  It was Bostocks from the Seven Spoons cookbook.  It’s an amazing combination of day old brioche (like challah bread), orange simple syrup, and almond cream.  It’s totally worth the work, and you can make the various elements ahead of time.  Check your library…I bet they have it!
• How about more learning about fabric?  Here’s a link to another of the Cotton + Steel substrate series.  This time it’s all about their cotton/linen canvas fabric!  Interesting!
• And finally, I’ve got one more video from Cotton + Steel about how their fabric is manufactured and printed over in Japan.  It’s pretty cool to see how it’s all made: