Summer Dresses and Skirts Pt. 2: ModKid Women's Skirt

Here is another unplanned modification of my SWAP...  I had originally intended to use this particular print for a sundress from Ottobre Woman 2/2014,

but decided to try out the skirt instead.  This is the Madeline skirt from ModKid--a skirt with four different variations and a yoga waistband that can be made from knit or wovens.

I made a version with pockets on the front because the pockets were cute and sort of matched the style of the print, being a little less "urban" and a little more... farm and country?

My results were mixed.  It seems that the XL is perhaps not quite large enough for me in the hips, even though it is cut on the bias.  It feels a bit snug even though I added a half-inch to the edges on the back, as if I were adding a seam allowance to an Ottobre pattern.  It isn't a great fit across the tummy, either, though my pictures sort of hide that.  I didn't like the shape--I wanted it to be more of an A-line than it is. I might like it more in a slightly heavier woven, or perhaps in the right knit? And finally, I'm not sure I like the pockets.  They add a lot of bulk, when my fabric is fairly delicate.  The pockets are lined, so that's part of it.  And those ties are each sewn from two tie pieces, again adding to the bulk.

My biggest dilemma was with the yoga waistband.  I find that even with those off-the-rack slinky knit maxi-skirts, I do not wear my normal size.  Or when the hips fit, the waist is too large, and I usually have the other problem. I did use a soft, slinky knit with some rayon in it, and perhaps that was the problem, but following the directions for how to make the waistband the right size left me with a skirt that would fall off if I didn't poke out my stomach, which wasn't really the look I was going for.  It was also too long for me, maybe because I'm short? 

The fix:  I took off the waistband, cut it way down to size so that it's now a 3" band that does not fold down.  I also made it tighter by two inches.  What I really needed was some elastic, though, because it still didn't feel secure.  So I added a quick drawstring made out of binding.  I hemmed it with a scallop, which makes for a nice detail, although I'm not sure "shabby chic" is my style...

It is wearable, and will look pretty cute with a navy tee that I already have.  I may also make an Ottobre tee out of the same brown knit I used for the waistband to dress it up a bit, if I feel like it...  This is why I'm not crazy about making skirts, or separates from prints--you have to make or find something to match!  Which is why sewing dresses is so nice... unless you need a shrug!

Modified Plan: Summer Dresses and Skirts Pt. 1

I'm not very good at making plans.  I always reserve the right to opt out of parties, conferences, and other events.  If I should happen to plan meals for a week, it generally turns out that eating the food I intended to eat on a particular day is the last thing in the world that I want to do.  I like to follow impulses, I guess.  So every time I try to do a "SWAP"--"sewing with a plan"--I decide that I would really like to do something else!  This time is no different.

If you read my last post, you may recognize the fabrics I used in my latest dresses as belonging to my SWAP!

However, these dresses were not what I intended to make.  The watercolor print on the left was supposed to be used for Ottobre Woman 2/2013 #13, which I describe as "a dressy tee with an asymmetrical drape feature."  Although I originally bought it with a dress in mind, I intended more recently to make a top out of the purple camo, because I do tend to wear more pants and dressy tees/tops.  But when I feel like sewing, I want to sew what I want to sew!  And lately, that has been dresses.

In part, this is influenced by the Summer of No Pants.  I remember it from last year--or maybe the year before--and while I'm not ever going to promise to wear dresses all summer, they are cool, can be very comfortable, usually look nice, and are easy--no worrying about what coordinates!  Just toss it on and go!  I have also been pretty excited to try out several patterns from the latest Ottobre Woman (2/2014), which features several very nice looking, flattering dresses.  The dresses above were made from that issue--a design that I wasn't, at first glance, very crazy about because it seemed a little... well... blah:

See what I mean?

But my pretty knits seemed wasted on tee-shirts, and I wanted to branch out from my go-to knit dress pattern (ModKid Kyoko) so I gave it a go!

When tracing the pattern, I lengthened the sleeves, since cap sleeves aren't my favorite on me.  One of the appeals of this dress is that there are no inset sleeves, which made it sew up that much more quickly!  I traced a sz. 48, which tends to be my usual size in Ottobre patterns, but I made the sleeves the length of the sz. 52.

I made the watercolor knit dress first, and it is a rayon/viscose knit, so I was a bit disappointed in how much the bodice stretched as I wore it.  It was about 2" longer at the end of mass than when I finished sewing it!  I'm trying to remember whether I rehemmed it--I want to say yes, but I admit that once something is finished, I don't tend to tweak it...

When I made the second dress--both in one weekend, mind you (it's that easy!)--I shortened the bodice by about an inch.  The purple camo is a cotton spandex--not so slinky--so has more recovery, and doesn't grow the way the watercolor knit does, which is great.

The gathers at the waist are done with clear elastic tape, and I feel like I finally got that technique right on these dresses--by using a stretch stitch rather than a zig-zag!

One feature I love about the dress is the pockets.  They're cute and easy to sew, if not terribly practical when made out of viscose knit or cotton spandex.  My 6 year-old thinks they are very cool, and puts her hands in them when she gets the chance.

One thing I did not do particularly well on the first dress was the neckline.  It has a binding, and it stretched out a bit more than I would have liked.  When I made the purple camo dress, I actually had a happy accident--I sewed the binding to the wrong side of the dress instead of the right side, and I used a stretch stitch to do it, which would have made it very difficult to undo.  So instead, I turned the neckline under and stitched it with a stretch honeycomb stitch.  It worked beautifully and lays quite flat!  Hooray!

The dresses are very comfortable--rather like a soft nightgown, which was a bit of a problem when I first wore them, but since I'm wearing one to work today, I guess I have gotten over the feeling of wearing pajamas in public!

SWAP: Sewing With A Plan, Summer 2014

It's been years since I heard of "SWAP," or sewing with a plan and tried it... I had a plan of sorts to make my daughter--then 3 or 4--an Ottobre wardrobe using mostly fabrics I had on hand.  I think I made one shirt that was very cute, and a pair of velour leggings that didn't fit, but did match, and then gave up because I didn't really like any of the fabric I was working with.  But it's time to revisit the SWAP, I think, and see how far I get this time.

This time, I would like to make myself an Ottobre wardrobe, including some pieces I've been wanting to make for years!  I do have some fabric to work with, but it's fabric I still like, which is important, and I know more about how to buy fabric that I will continue to like, whether or not I use it immediately. No more dull clearance fabric for me!!

So here's the plan:

I might make an extra pair of pants or two if they fit well (and if I stay focused!!)

Here's the breakdown, using Ottobre's numbering system, and the order of my sketches:

Ottobre 2/2014

#18-A sundress with an A-line skirt from a tan print with bold flowers
#7-A maxi-sundress with gathered tiers from a light sea-green eyelet linen
#8-A short-sleeved knit jacket from a brown lightweight knit with a nice drape
#15-A pin-tucked shirt - fabric TBA
#14-Pants with elastic in the back - would like a black or tan/khaki/lt. brown linen

Ottobre 2/2012

#19-A rayon top from a purple border print

Ottobre 2/2013

#2-A dressy tee that sits on the hip - from a solid knit
#13-A dressy tee with an asymmetrical drape feature - from a print knit with a nice drape
#20-Dressy trousers - from sateen

Ottobre 5/2007

#3-An A-line skirt - from a bottomweight print

Here are the fabrics I have so far!

A (short) Sewing Blog Round-up

In honor of trying to actually make a plan, stick to it, and blog it (we'll see, but I'll try), I want to put up a short list of blogs that I like, or people whose sewing I like who blog.  I am a member of the Ottobre English Yahoo! Group, which has members from all over the world sewing and discussing Ottobre patterns.  I discovered it early in my Ottobre Design adventures, and it gave me some hints and support with sewing Ottobre patterns.  (There's an accompanying Flickr group, as well.)  From those two sources, I discovered some very talented and creative people, including:

• Astrid at Connecting the Dots

• Teri at mermaids

• Joy at 21 Wale

• Pam at Off the Cuff - who does much more tailoring; always impressive!

And so many more whose blogs I have stumbled across before.  What is amazing is that the stories that go along with the people and the sewing.  So many of the members of the Ottobre Yahoo! Group sew for their children, their special needs children, their grown children, their grandchildren... And it is just nice to see the snapshot of the real people behind the wonderful things that they make!

Then, there are some I stumbled across while doing searches, like

• LiEr at ikatbag - my all-time favorite because of the sheer level of creativity and variety of crafts!

• Katy at no big dill - whom I love because of the themed sewing marathons

So this is my list.  I hope you find something to inspire and to share!

Disappointed: Review of Ottobre "Forest Path" Pants, #19, 4/2012

Every now and then, I am disappointed by the fit of an Ottobre Design pattern.  Usually, the problem occurs in the waist or the rise.  For the longest time, I was altering patterns for my older daughter to make sure that they came to her waist--particularly leggings and panties--assuming that she was just long-waisted.  And that might have been part of it.  I don't know that I've made her pants in a while--she's now 8 and I have found that Wal-Mart jeans fit her, as do Gymboree pants (now sz. 9).  I did find that some Ottobre Design pant patterns fit her just fine, while others were low in the waist.

My younger girl--almost 6 years--is the hard one to fit now, with her little round tummy.  She's in kindergarten, and just fits the clothes that her sister wore at the *end* of kindergarten (right when we discovered that she could fit Gymboree).  But this year's Gymboree pant styles aren't fitting my 6 yo at all.  So I decided to try the Forest Path Pants from the Autumn 2012 Ottobre children's issue.  They didn't take long to get together, particularly since I omitted the front pockets.  The only other modification was to the waistband.  They are supposed to have a drawstring. I also had narrower elastic (by 1 cm) than what the pattern called for.  Even so, I think the pattern could have been drafted with 1-2 inches more in the rise.  Here are my results.

They look fairly cute, if a little plain without the front pocket.  I was using a fine-wale corduroy from my stash, and I just barely had enough fabric for the pants--hence the pink waistband.  It's probably obvious why my daughter thought they were "sleep pants"...  *sigh*

The pocket and yoke details are nice in the back (though hard to see with the print):

But here's one problem.  They really are lower than I would like.

And the back pockets are positioned more on her legs than her bottom!

So what was the problem here?

Well, looking back at the magazine, I fear that this is how they were drafted, in part because they are primarily designed for younger children.  She is at the top of the size range, the next-to-largest size--at a European size 122.  The pants start at 92--which is the size her sister wore at 2 years old, just to give an idea.  The pants are pictured in the magazine three times.  First, on a toddler (they are unisex, which made me think they would be higher in the front rather than lower...):

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2012_4/index.html?fi

It is pretty clear in the picture above that the pants come to the top of a diaper, no higher.  The second picture shows a boy wearing the pants.  I notice that he has his legs spread wide in the picture that actually features the pants, and that his hands are in his pockets.  You can tell that the top of the pocket is right under the hem of his shirt, which means that his waistband is only about 3cm above that point.  Still lower than I would like.  *sigh*

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2012_4/index.html?fi

And the little girl who made me decide to make these particular pants?:

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2012_4/index.html?fi

Her hands are in her pocket awkwardly as well, and her legs apart.  The top of her pants (you can tell by the drawstring) are right under the elasticized bottom of her top, though it is clear that they are sagging a little when worn like this.

I have to conclude that the pants are simply low-waisted, which I would have noticed had I looked harder at the picture rather than the drawing.  

The other thing is that the girl is wearing a sz. 110, the older boy, a 115, and the baby a sz. 92 (though his height is 88 cm--so maybe it runs small??)  None of the models is 6 years old, making me think that it really is a more juvenile design.  The pocket placement on the smaller sizes appears much better than on the sz. 122.  Oh well.

In the meantime, it is wearable with a longish shirt.  She doesn't have a longish shirt, so we'll have to work on that.  But lesson learned--scrutinize the design as shown in the magazine.

A Nancy Clancy Trench: Ottobre 3/2008, #40 "Birdwatcher" Linen Jacket

Every year my girls' school has a "book parade" at the end of October.  It's part of their "say no to drugs" week, which I'll excuse because the concept is so neat.  The kids and teachers dress up as book characters and then have a parade.  This is going to be the third year for my now-2nd grader, and though my youngest has seen the parade twice, she will be in it this year!

So while little sister will be the Cat in the Hat, wearing a hat and bowtie that I made for her last spring, big sister will be "Nancy Clancy," the detective incarnation of the Fancy Nancy character.  For her costume, I made a trench coat using Ottobre's "Birdwatcher" Linen Jacket pattern from the Summer 2008 issue.

I seem to be opting for more details and complexity these days, and while the prospect is always a little daunting, it pays off!  I cut out the pattern last weekend, and pretty much avoided doing anything with it until 6 P.M. this Saturday.  I worked on it for about 6 hours on Saturday, and then much of the day (excluding meals and Mass) until 9 P.M. on Sunday.  The only thing I modified was the length--which is longer--and the beltloops.  The pattern calls for 4, but instead I made two fat beltloops and placed one on each side seam.  I think I could have placed them a little higher, but it still looks good.  Here are the results, including the most intimidating feature of all--the sleeve. I think it's fancy enough for Nancy Clancy!

Overly-Ambitious Treat Bags

So as of last night, the mustache/monacle and keyhole treatbags are officially done!  The birthday girl confessed to me that, although she does like the moustaches, she isn't crazy about the treat bags.  Maybe it's the monacle?  Some of them look a little cyclopic.  What surprised me most about these is how much string/binding//ribbon it took for the drawstrping backpack.  Almost 1.5 yards each!!  I was fortunate to have a friend give me some spools of ribbon that she had, and I managed to use some I had lying around and bought some from Wal-Mart (for $1 less per spool than the same stuff at JoAnn's!).  Otherwise, it might have been pricier than I expected!  I will have extras, too.  This one is my favorite:

And this one is the favorite of the birthday girl's little sister, who picked the colors herself!:

The birthday girl herself can't decide which one she wants.  She likes the pink on turquoise, but prefers the keyhole to the moustaches.  I might have to make one more... *sigh*

I had these in the back of my head, I think: