Megan Nielsen Briar. Can I get a what what?

Another game that I’m evidently late to: the Megan Nielsen Briar top. ZOMG WHERE HAS THIS PATTERN BEEN ALL MY LIFE?

ahem.

So, this is a fabulous shirt pattern with a high-low hem, that you can make as a crop top or regular length.  You can also choose short sleeves, 3/4 length, or long sleeves.  2 types of pockets.  And then I DIED.

I made the first as a muslin to test the fit, in this ugly ass green and orange striped knit that I bought (when I was on drugs? because someone was holding a gun to my head?) eleventy billion years ago and just clearly never hated anyone enough to use it on them.  I figured if the shirt turned out terribly then hell, it wasn’t like I was wasting the material or anything.

I didn’t have *quite* enough yardage to bind the neck with self fabric, so I found some tangerine tissue knit in my stash and at the last minute decided to use it for the pocket as well to make it look more intentional.  Don’t tell anyone that this was not intentional please and thank you.

I made the medium, and I feel like it’s too big.  Is it, or am I crazy?  

I had ordered some of this really beautiful fushia cotton/lycra knit to make another top, so I forged ahead and made the medium one there, as well.  I *still* think it’s too big.

Really easy construction, though, I made the longer version with short sleeves.  It’s super comfy, and very straightforward to make.  Love the hem, for serious.

I want to make a few more (or a million more) but I really think I’m going to size down to a size small.  I also want to make the cropped version, maybe with long sleeves, to wear over my maxi dresses.  Because that’s my new favorite thing.

Go me!

Mission Maxi turned tank

Yeah, I decided to take the Maxi craze a step further and make myself a tank top.  Knit from Girl Charlee (obvies) that I got one million years ago with the intention of making the girls a dress or shirt or something.  Then I stole it for myself.

The material doesn’t have *that* much stretch to it, and I was worried that it would be a problem.  I made the size 10/12, and cut it off where the pattern indicates to make a tank.  

I have two issues with this:

1. The racerback construction shows my bra straps.  No, I don’t want to buy a new bra.  Blarg.

2. The construction of the dress flares out at the hips, so the tank flares out a little after the waist.  It’s not bad, but I don’t particularly like it.  

Also, I decided to twin needled the hem, which created some tunneling.  And I didn’t have enough self fabric to bind the neck or armholes, so I had to use a different knit entirely.  I’m actually fine with the binding, I think it looks great, but I’m not sure how I feel overall about this top.  I definitely don’t think I’ll make it again, but I’m not sure how often I’ll actually wear it, either.

These pictures are after wearing it and washing it, and the hem did not fare particularly well.  I draw the line at ironing a tank top you guys, so we’ll see how much play this bad boy will actually get.

Jamie Christina Mission Maxi x2

I’m late to the game with the maxis, I get that.  I saw this pattern and had pinned it to my sewing board, and then kept seeing it popping up all over the intarwebs.  It’s like someone was trying to tell me something, or something.  Kwim?

I ordered 2 yards of this knit from Girl Charlee and the pattern and decided to give it a go.  I made View A — originally traced out a size 8 based on my measurements, but graded out the waist to a size 10.  

The construction was dead-ass simple.  Front and back, with 3 pieces of binding for the neck and armholes.  Really easy.

The material was a literal dream to sew, and so soft.  The drape is amazing.  I knew instantly that it would show every lump and roll I have, though, so I thought maybe I wouldn’t wear it out, but then I saw a few ladies in the Flickr pool who wore shirts over their dresses. So. Dang. Smart.  And it looks really cute.

I love the comfort and style of the dress so much, in fact, that I ordered more fabric from Girl Charlee and then made up yet another maxi, this time in black.  This knit is less clingy (the drape isn’t as nice, though) and I did this in a 10 graded out to a 12, and it’s much looser.  Looser = more comfortable and I can actually breathe when I wear it.  

I have another 2 yards of this nautical print knit, which will end up being yet another maxi dress in the new and improved size.  It’s like I’m addicted or something, but 3 just may be the limit.

Sew Lisette Portfolio Tunic with Racing Stripes

Remember when I only used to sew clothes for my kids? Yeah, me either.  

So this dress.  I bought this medium weight grey suiting at the fabric store up the street from my work.  It was, like, $8 or something super cheap.  About 2 yards, 54” wide, and I knew immediately when I saw it that it wanted to be a Portfolio tunic.

I had this vague idea of using piping on it after seeing some of the photos in the Sew Lisette Flickr pool, but I was on the fence.  I didn’t want to screw it up, and I’d only used piping once before.  In the end, though, I really wanted to break up that grey without incorporating another fabric, and I had this hot pink piping lying around that was just begging to be used.

That piping turned out LIKE A BAWSE.  I’m so proud of it, if you can’t tell.  

I had intended for this to be a tunic top and not really so much a dress, but then I found these crazy tights and well, to hell with it.  I am, however, anti-flashing-my-ass so I whipped up some of these Colette bloomers to wear underneath.  Maybe I’ll blog about them separately, but you get the idea.  Satiny-black bloomers to hide my butt.  Pretty simple.  And you guys, it’s a free download, so you should snatch it up. Even if you don’t make yourself a ho-dress, you could still wear them as PJs.

I wanted to preserve as much length as possible on this bad boy, so I used some hot pink ribbon I had lying around to hem that sucker. Stroke. Of. Genius.  It gives some stability and weight to the hem and is a funky little detail that only I can see.

I have thoughts about making another Portfolio, with shorter sleeves and actually making it dress-length.  Once you’ve sewn it once, it’s sort of a breeze to do another one.  Simple construction FTW!

Dress for me! Built By Wendy 3835

More selfish sewing. Love it. The other day I went to a fabric and notions store up the street from my work, and found some cool ass polyester something-or-other on sale for $2. That’s right y’all, two dollars. So. I snatched it up knowing it would make a great dress for warmer weather.

I sewed it up using BBW 3835, in the longer dress version. Gathered yoke, tie sleeves, back darts and zipper.  I’ve made the shirt version of this pattern a trillion times, but not the dress version with the zipper. It wasn’t that hard, but the material was slippery as shit and gave me fits.  

The armbands are too tight, though. If I make this again (and that’s a very big if) I will have to adjust the fit there.  Everywhere else it fits great, not too fitted but it doesn’t end up looking like a tent, either.  

Love the patch pockets.  I tried to match the stripes, but fuck it. I’m not that kind of seamstress.

Love the retro look, like something I could’ve found in a thrift shop somewhere.  And lemme tell you, I’m really proud of what a good job I did on this dress.  I WILL break my arm patting myself on the back, thankyouverymuch.