Simplicity 9505 View C Nightgown

I finished 2 of these peasant-style nightgowns since posting about this pattern on Tuesday. Like the other views I've made with this pattern, they were easy to make. I did change the construction order to facilitate construction. Um, why completely make the sleeves (including casings), and then attach them to the assembled body of the garment? They're raglan after all, and it's much simpler to assemble all the pieces before sewing up the sides. I also prefer doing all similar operations at the same time, so that's what I did with casings and elastic. Silly instructions like that make no sense, and I feel free to ignore them for a better way. If you sew, I hope feel confident enough to do the same. It'll save you a lot of grief.

Anyway, back to the gowns. I used basic cotton fabric from the stash, so these will be comfortable to wear through the summer. Although I love the sleeveless drawstring style from the pattern, it's a little too bare for this time of year. The short sleeved peasant style is perfect for cool spring mornings.

I wore the pink one to bed last night and was very pleased with it. I think I'll save the blue for an upcoming weekend trip.

Duchesse commented on the caftan version on the pattern envelope: I like the caftan shape and can see it in interesting fabrics worn as at-home wear (not just for sleeping).

I agree! I've made it a couple of times for sleepwear, but an "at-home" version in either length would be perfect for casual living. Why recreate the wheel?

I also noticed that the drawstring nightgown from this pattern has a more flattering fit than that Butterick disaster I made for Puerto Rico, so I may revisit it for use as an actual dress.

Simplicity 9505 View C, a Different Nightgown

Once again, it's back to this collection of sleepwear. I've really gotten my money's worth out of this pattern, having made several of the drawstring and tunic style nightgowns already. This time, I'm making the peasant style nightgown; time for something light but with a little more coverage than the drawstring style.

I stacked and cut two cottons at the same time, but since I'm working out the fit, I'm sewing each one separately instead of working assembly-line style. As is often true of the Big pattern companies, sleepwear patterns are drafted with a lot of ease. This one is no exception. In addition, I'm not certain that the sizing is consistent between views. A minor quibble because I like this pattern so much, but worth keeping in mind if you want to sew sleepwear.

The first nightgown is coming together easily, but I had to stop because I need to buy some 1/4" elastic. I have every other size except that and I forgot to allow for 3/8" elastic when I was serging the upper edge to prepare the casing. Oh well.

Fabric Shopping, Meet-up, Retreat in Northern NM

I was on the road last weekend in Northern New Mexico, primarily for the annual Vestry retreat at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu. Beautiful place, but no cell phone or internet access. Yes, a few such places still exist!

The trip started on Friday morning. After throwing some clothes into my wheelie bag and stopping by the supermarket to pick up supplies for Saturday's breakfast, I hit the road up to Santa Fe and a visit to Santa Fe Fabrics. I've been meaning to visit for the past year or so, but didn't have the chance until this time. Nice shop, good fabrics, friendly staff, and tiny. They will be moving to a larger space in the same strip center soon according to the ladies cutting my order. It's nice to see that they're doing well. All the fabric stores I used to visit in Santa Fe are gone and there was a hole in the market that needed filling. These are premium fabrics, so the prices reflect that. However, I'm willing to pay for quality natural fiber fabric--beautiful stuff and a pleasure to work with.

I bought two pieces, green cotton with an interesting weave and a lightweight wool/rayon blend jersey. The cotton will become another pair of TSW Hudson Pants, while the jersey will become a long or 3/4 sleeved t-shirt.

After shopping, I headed up to Los Alamos for lunch with Wendy H, a cyber friend from Pattern Review and Stitcher's Guild. It was nice to meet her in person for the first time, although we already knew each other through message boards. It was a lovely time, but I wish I had remembered to take a picture! Maybe next time...hopefully soon.

Then up to Abiquiu for the Vestry. Although our group is the governing body of our parish, most of our time was spent getting to know each other so we can better work together as a team. We also had several sessions to discuss An Altar in the World, the book St. Michael's is studying and reading as part of Lent. Once again, I neglected photography this time. But these pictures from last year will give you an idea of what the surroundings were like. No wonder Georgia O'Keeffe was enchanted by this area.

Stitch Magazine

I recently won a year's free subscription to Stitch Magazine from PatternReview, just for "liking" a comment on its Facebook page. Cool! I wasn't familiar with this magazine, but who doesn't love a prize?

This description is from their website, and it says what they're about a lot more eloquently than I can:  

Stitch is a quarterly special issue sewing magazine all about creating with fabric and thread. Whether you are new to sewing, have been sewing for years, or are returning to sewing after a long hiatus, Stitch will give you a fresh perspective on sewing.

It is packed to the brim with original projects by innovative designers including:
• Wearables
• Home décor
• Fabric gifts

Stitch also brings you the latest from the sewing world:
• News
• Trends
• Products
• Designer profiles
• Inspiration from the exciting world of sewing and textile

From Japanese craft books and Project Runway to classic designer fashion and modern home décor trends, from fiber art to Etsy.com, vintage to fashion-forward—our focus is on contemporary sewing that celebrates the handmade lifestyle.

It's published by Interweave Press, a quality publisher of craft books and magazines. I'm familiar with them through their publication Cloth Paper Scissors Studios, which is an enjoyable read, full of eye candy.

Anyway, about Stitch. It's oriented toward a younger, less experienced sewer than me. Based on the projects and articles, I'd say they're aiming for a 20s-30s woman who wants to sew but doesn't have a whole lot of experience. And that's great, anything to encourage the next generation of sewists so that fabric, thread, and notions continue to be made and sold! I thought the article on the Top 10 sewing challenges was an excellent primer on common techniques that sewists have, such as setting a sleeve, pressing a curved seam, adjusting thread tension, etc.

The heart of the magazine is the projects, and there are plenty. My favorite is a wool pencil skirt with faux suede embellishment. It's very attractive and doesn't suffer from cuteness overload like some of the other projects (chipmunk hotpad, I'm looking at you!) I was a little dismayed when I flipped back to the directions and found an instruction to download the pattern. However, I soldiered on and was delighted to find that it was free and included the skirt as well as the embellishments.  I haven't printed and assembled it yet but plan to very soon. A good pencil skirt is worth it!

What other projects did I like? I actually liked a little dress called the Easy-Fit Babydoll Dress so I downloaded it. I wouldn't consider it a true babydoll, which is why I'm going to give it a try. I also liked the look of Felt Confetti Pillow, but wow, it has a lot of hand sewing for a decorative pillow! For that reason, I probably won't make it. Unfortunately, the garment I liked most wasn't a project unless I care to reverse-engineer the knit jacket with the ruffled edge on page 64. Help me out, Stitch! It's a really cute item.

The magazine includes 2 pull out pages with full-sized patterns to trace off. They're laid out well, unlike the road maps that Burda prints. In addition, the companion website has a bunch of downloads, including these free projects in addition to the magazine patterns. Frankly, those are free too, but are meant to be used with the magazine since they don't include any instructions (you could wing them if you're an experienced sewist, just sayin'...) It looks like Interweave Press is making a strong effort to integrate print and electronic media, and that's to be applauded.

One caveat, this isn't an inexpensive magazine. The newsstand price is $14.99 an issue. However, the value is there IF you make projects from it and use the downloads. Also, consider the web support as part of what you're paying to support.

Right now, I'll give Stitch a B, but I'll update when I've received more issues and made a project or two.

Loes Hinse Bergman Blouse

I mentioned in the Casual Elegance post that I've become enamored with Loes Hinse's jacket tweak of this pattern. I decided to make a blouse first, rather than jump in and start cutting my lovely chenille without a clue of how the pattern fits. No, I haven't made it before.

I used some inexpensive lightweight poly faille from Hancock's for the blouse. So inexpensive, it wouldn't matter if it was a disaster, plus there was plenty left for recutting if needed. In other words, no psychic cost.

Fortunately, the blouse came out well and it fits! The print coordinates well with denim, navy, red, pink, and green. Even orange works! I wore it to jury duty with an orange tweed Talbot's jacket (photo here) and this navy pair of TSW Urban pants. It was comfortable to wear throughout the long day of sitting and waiting.

Based on the blouse sample, I've decided to add 1" to each of the jacket side seams as "seam insurance," a total of 4" around the circumference. Easy enough to whack off if I don't need it, but there just in case I do. I'm really looking forward to working with the chenille. Both pieces are beautiful and soft.

Casual Elegance Order

My order arrived Saturday, which is amazing considering that I ordered on Thursday. Here's what I got:

Green rayon chenille

Cream rayon chenille

Tropical print rayon challis

I'm planning on making a jacket based on the Bergman Blouse tweak that Loes Hinse and Sharon Lyon recently emailed. One of the rayon chenilles will be used for that, probably the green. But first, an actual Bergman Blouse--you see, I haven't actually made this pattern up yet, and I want to give it a try before cutting into the good stuff.

The other one, I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of the short version of Loes Hinse's Swing Skirt pattern for the challis.

JAM 3: Vogue 8430 by Marcy Tilton

I made this jacket because I had this big piece of polarfleece laying on the Sewing Cave floor, and I didn't even want to attempt to stuff it back into the fabric closet. It's another that I've had in the stash for a while, dating from 2003. It has a base of solid black fleece, but one side has sage green pine trees, stars, swirls, and dots. I'm guessing it's some sort of stencil, because the motifs have a painted texture. Regardless of how it was done, this is the only piece like this I've ever seen.

Because each side of the fleece can stand on its own, I decided to make this a reversible garment by sewing what I call a Raw Edge Flat Fell Seam. Basically, you make it like a normal flat fell seam by sewing the seam edges right sides together and trimming one edge close to the stitching. But instead of folding the wide side under and stitching it in place, I just stitched the wide side down 1/4" from the first line of stitching, then trimmed. It works because the fleece will not ravel and saves bulk on a thick fabric. I used sage thread for the second stitching. It doesn't show up as much as I'd like on the black side, but it does blend nicely on the printed side. I also used sage thread for the sleeve dart and on the zigzag stitching I added around the edge "just because."

It's a little late in the season for polarfleece, but it should be perfect for a retreat I'm taking in Northern New Mexico at the end of the month. I envision it as an extra layer I can throw on in case the lodge is chilly.

I'm not sure I mentioned it when I made the last one, but I lengthened the 2 fronts so they're the same length as the jacket back. This time, I also lengthened the sleeves by 2", short enough to leave as is but also long enough to turn up cuffs if desired. 

I wore the jacket to church on Sunday and made an interesting discovery--it glows in the dark!! That is, the sage green portions do, which makes the fabric even weirder, but that's cool. I wish I knew why it was manufactured this way, and for what purpose. At any rate, the jacket was nice for today's weather in the 50s (Fahrenheit). DH also gave it an unsolicited compliment and since he's not a Fashion guy, that means it looks good on me!